Your Friendly Neighborhood Deku
by SpyderWeb
Summary: There's villains on the rise and the city is victimized! Once Izuku Midoriya receives his quirk by unusual means, he's part of the next generation of heroes that's supposed to fight against such malice!
1. Prologue

"Happy Birthday, Shigaraki Tomura."

Most would assume villains don't celebrate their date of birth. Criminals don't receive surprise parties and gifts, they don't deserve it. Evil-doers would only be satisfied with chaos & death anyways, and any day of the week can be filled with such malice. Finding the perfect present for a villain would prove rather difficult for the unorthodox.

A bartender enveloped in cloudy purple mist offered an alcoholic beverage. Cocktails were this particular villain's specialty after all, well, aside from mass murder. It wasn't an extravagant gift, but it was a good gesture. The foggy man often only served water to the blue haired birthday boy, so it wasn't an every day order either.

As Tomura sipped at the drink, he made sure to keep his index finger lifted. This particular precaution could be considered a drawback of his quirk. When all five appendages come in contact with something, the object will rapidly decay and wither into oblivion.

"Thank you, Kurogiri.", Shigaraki couldn't help the grin forming on his chapped lips.

The bartender gave a small nod in return before occupying himself with wiping empty glasses.

Suddenly, a small television monitor flickered to life. The screen presented no images, only bold letters overlapping a black background. The red text read **Only Audio** and a voice coming through the speakers proved this statement true.

"While it is good to indulge every so often, I wouldn't recommend making it a habit to drink cocktails."

Shigaraki nearly choked on the liquid, outwardly ashamed of his actions. Tomura acted like a child that was caught by their father before forcefully tossing the glass at Kurogiri. The misty bartender simply sidestepped the attack and the cup shattered on impact with a wall. While Kurogiri was used to these outbursts from Shigaraki, he couldn't resist the audible sigh that escaped upon losing another one of his culinary objects.

Tomura dropped to his hands and knees to beg the unseen newcomer for forgiveness. "Sensei! I-"

The voice behind the screen interrupted, "On your feet, Tomura.", the tone was that of an order.

Shigaraki swallowed his spit, now that there was no beverage to consume. With a shaky nod, the blue haired boy stood up.

"I would like to have a word with my apprentice.", the voice was referring to Tomura.

"Kurogiri, if you would.", another order from the television. The bartender knew exactly what their 'Sensei' wanted, and proceed to open a warp gate. The spiral whirling portal was made of the same purple particles that shrouded Kurogiri, a part of the man's quirk.

All it took to transport Tomura Shigaraki to their Sensei, was simply stepping through the warp gate.

The portal closed behind Tomura as soon as he entered the new location. Unlike the warm and quite bright bar, this place was cold and dark. The atmosphere sent unnerving chills up Shigaraki's spine, it was like journeying into an endless abyss.

The only source of light, was the grainy monitors surrounding Tomura's Sensei. Wires and cables were connected to humming machines. Faint beeping from medical equipment could be heard as part of the man's life support. A grotesque face of marred flesh replaced where the person's eyes should be. It was truly an unholy sight. However, despite all these apparent weaknesses, one couldn't help but feel captivated by the overwhelming sense of power that radiated from the man. It was against Tomura's better senses that he refrained from kneeling in his Sensei's presence.

"You're growing older, Tomura, and with age.. there comes wisdom. I've been alive for decades and lived through most of history. In all my time, I haven't once felt this affectionate towards someone other than my brother. This is why I wanted to offer you my best birthday wishes in person."

"Th- Thank you, Sensei. I- I feel the same way.", Shigaraki resisted the urge to cry in gratitude.

"I know you and I share the same desire to destroy the pillar of society, All Might, the symbol of peace."

The mere mention of Japan's number one hero makes Tomura grate his teeth together. The blue haired villain feels his fingers twitching, the desire to grab something and make it disintegrate becomes overbearing like his anger. To restrain himself from lashing out, Tomura opts to scratch at his neck instead. The kinesic that was meant to be a form of meditation had become a force of habit.

"Unfortunately, I cannot offer you such a gift just yet, that is something you must achieve on your own in due time."

Shigaraki takes in his master's words and has to physically pry his hands away from his neck to stop scratching. "I understand. I vow to fulfill that quest."

The man wrapped in medical equipment let himself chuckle softly. Tomura had begun speaking in videogame terms after playing several RPGs to induce better response time. While the particular method of training wasn't what he or Kurogiri had in mind, it still proved to get the job done.

"I have no doubt you'll make me proud as a successor.", this statement made the blue haired boy beam with pride. It was times like these that reminded the villainous man just how childish his protege still is.

"However, I have something in my possession that may suffice as your birthday gift."

Tomura perked up even further.

"Is it the Nomu? It's already complete?", the boy became giddy as ever. Truly, Tomura was the equivalent of a child ripping off the wrapping paper on their present.

Shigaraki's Sensei shook is head with another low laugh. "That project will take some more time to finish. What I've created for you now should be as equally enticing though."

If Tomura was disappointed, his attitude didn't show it. "What is it?"

The older villain beckoned Shigaraki before revealing a glass container he had nearby. In the tank was a massive spider, the creature certainly had alterations done to it considering its size.

"A pet?", Tomura peered through the glass to observe the specimen.

"Not quite. Tell me, Tomura, has Kurogiri brushed up on the topic of Greek Mythology with you?"

Shigaraki never peeled his eyes off of the arachnid as he shook his head in response. "Sorry Sensei, but Kurogiri has been more focused on tutoring me when it comes to mathematics."

"There's no need to apologize, Tomura. I have no apprehensions in telling you the story of Arachne and Athena on my own behalf."

Tomura's attention drew back to his master. "Please Sensei, tell me..", his interest had peaked.

"Very well. The tale begins with the Goddess named Athena. It seems she heard of a particular woman on earth, a mere mortal like you and me, who happened to be a better spintress than she was."

The blue haired boy continued to listen with fascination.

"Athena wasn't too happy to hear of this. She came down to earth and destroyed the woman's creations."

"That sounds like a woman..", Tomura made an off handed comment.

"No more interruptions."

"Sorry, Sensei."

"When this mortal girl saw what had happened, that she had insulted the Gods and that her life's work had been destroyed, she decided to hang herself. Athena took pity on the poor girl after that, and proceeded to transfer her power through a simple touch on the forehead. It was then that Athena gave this woman a new identity, Arachne, and the transformation began. Arachne shrank and blackened, her fingers turned into legs as other appendages fell off. What was left of her body, served the purpose of spinning webs forever forward."

Tomura's gaze shifted back to the container that the spider resided in.

"Do you know why I decided to share this story with you?"

"No.. I can't say I do..", confusion was evident in the boy's voice.

"It reminisces the two of us, don't you think? I found Tenko Shimura abandoned by heroes, what this society may refer to as 'Gods'. Now, you've become Tomura Shigaraki, a better vessel than before. As you also know, I'm capable of sharing power. You know I create fantastical creatures such as the Nomu."

"You're.. going to finally pass down 'All For One', I'm going to inherit your power?"

Tomura's Sensei pats the boy on his head.

"Not quite yet."

"Oh.."

"However, the spider I have given you is no ordinary creature."

Tomura's eyes widen in surprise before facing the arachnid again.

"Like me, it can transfer amazing abilities. This is my gift to you, Tomura, Happy Birthday."

"Sensei.. I don't know what to say..", Shigaraki smiled brightly as tears threatened to spill.

"Your gratitude is thanks enough. Run along now, Tomura, it would be impolite of you to keep Kurogiri waiting."

The blue haired boy hadn't noticed a warp gate swirling like a vortex behind him. With a bow of appreciation, Tomura took his gift and left his master.

Upon returning to the bar, Tomura found that nothing had changed. Kurogiri was still absent mindedly cleaning one of his more antique cups with a cloth.

"I take it that your visit went well?", the misty bartender presumed.

"Yes! Look at what Sensei gave me!", Shigaraki placed the container on the bar counter to brag & boast. Kurogiri could only narrow his yellow eye slits as he glowered at the showcased arachnid. Tomura knew how much the bartender disliked insects and bugs alike, but didn't stop his overly excited rambling.

"Indeed. The spider is quite.. 'nice'..", Kurogiri had a hard time picking from his choice of words.

Tomura grinned, that response was apparently satisfactory. "What should I name it?"

If Kurogiri had eyebrows, they would have probably flown off his face anyway. "You want to keep this thing as a pet?"

"Sensei made it clear that the spider had more than just that one purpose, but yes, I find it very intriguing.", Tomura admitted.

"Very well.", Kurogiri hummed.

"I was thinking we could call it.. Kumo?"

Kurogiri resisted the urge to shrug, he could honestly care less, he just wanted the arachnid off his counter. "A wise suggestion, Shigaraki Tomura."

Tomura's grin grew ten fold now that his pet had a name. As he went to take off the container's lid though, Kurogiri grabbed his wrist. "Unhand me, Kurogiri!", Shigaraki hissed like a snake.

"I don't think it's a good idea to let your..", Kurogiri cleared his throat, "..'Pet'.. out of its tank."

"I don't care what you think is a good idea or isn't a good idea! Sensei told me its special and I want to see what it can do for myself!", Tomura argued.

Kurogiri's grip on the boy's wrist lingered for a bit longer before he surrendered. "Fine.."

Shigaraki finished pulling off the lid so he could get a better look at the spider. The arachnid had certainly been experimented on, if the size weren't any indication earlier. The creature had some kind of Kanji imprinted on its abdomen, Shigaraki chose to ignore it and Kurogiri couldn't bare to look at such a revolting thing. Instead of eight legs only, the arachnid appeared to have hind appendages that acted as both backup pincers and palptoids. Lastly, it also had an extra set of eyes.

Before Tomura could observe the spider any further, he was interrupted by the sound of company. Somebody had knocked at the door before calling out, "Pizza Delivery!"

"Pizza? I didn't order any pizza!", Shigaraki felt his fingers twitching as he prepared for some kind of ambush.

"But **I** did. I figured it would make for an enjoyable meal, being your birthday and all.", Kurogiri reassured Tomura before heading to answer the door.

Shigaraki relaxed when he saw a boy younger than him wearing a ridiculous employee uniform and not a pro hero or vigilante. The child had an irritatingly bright smile and too many damn freckles. Even though the pizza boy was wearing a hat, green curly hair poked out in a tangled mess.

"Hi! I'm Izuku Midoriya from Aziz Pizzeria! I've got two extra large cheese pizzas for a Mister Shigaraki?", the boy bowed in greeting.

"That would be us.", Kurogiri spoke for both of the villains.

"Oh, g- good! I was worried that I came to the wrong place for a second..", the boy sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward chuckle. "You guys are kinda hidden away here."

"What does it matter to you?! Just give us the damn pizzas!", Tomura snapped.

The boy named Izuku jumped with a small yelp before nodding vigorously. "R- Right away, sir!", Midoriya quickly grabbed the food off of a scooter and returned to the door.

"I apologize for Shigaraki's mannerisms, he's still learning.", Kurogiri sighed.

"Oh, it's no p- problem, really!", Izuku stammered out his response and that only irritated Tomura more. "Um, that'll be three thousand and two hundred yen.."

Kurogiri used his quirk to transport the payment through a smaller warp, much to Izuku's amazement. "Keep the change."

"Wow, that's such an amazing quirk! You could do all kinds of things with it! I'm uncertain if you're able to make larger portals, but if so, then you could possibly helpresolvehostagesituationsrightaway. Youcouldevenwarpanenemytoaprisoncellwithoutanyseverecombat. DoyoumindifIwritethisinmynotebook? Doescreatingwarpsgiveyouanysortofstrain? Howmanycanyoumakeatatime?", Midoriya's awe & praise became a full blown storm of muttering that barely anyone could understand.

Shigaraki scratched at his neck to keep his hands from reaching for the boy. "Kurogiri, get him out of here before I turn him to dust!"

"Farewell, Midoriya. We'll be sure to order from you again.", the bartender closes the door on Izuku before he can be bombarded by another flurry of questions.

"Make sure to ask for another delivery boy next time!", Tomura growls.

"Yes. That was a bit much.. even for me.", Kurogiri agrees while placing the pizza boxes in front of Shigaraki. This draws attention to the empty container that also occupies space.

"Wait.. Where's Kumo?!", Tomura shouts.

Kurogiri is suddenly in as much of a frenzy that Shigaraki is, both hysterically searching for the lost spider.

Neither villain noticed the arachnid crawling out of its tank and out the door during their conversation with the pizza boy.

Izuku Midoriya wouldn't realize he picked up a hitchhiker either, until much later that night when it decides to bite him.


	2. Pizza Time! No More!

"You're fired."

The green haired delivery boy for Aziz Pizzeria nearly got whiplash from the double take he made.

"Wh- What?! Why?!", the recently unemployed teen stumbled over his words per usual.

"You're really asking me that question, Midoriya-San? I got eight calls – EIGHT! - Eight customers complaining that they never received their order! There is no excuse for such a thing!"

Midoriya subconsciously rubbed at the fresh wound on his hand. The reason for his tardiness was due to an abnormally large spider biting him mid delivery. Out of fear that the species was potentially poisonous, he tried going to the hospital. It was around that time that he fainted, possibly a side effect of the bite. When he awoke, he felt completely relieved of pain and thought there was no cause for concern.

"Please, just give me another chance! I r- really need this job to help my mom!"

Aziz seemed to falter for a moment, considering his decision. The boy's mother, Inko Midoriya, worked part time as a chef in the pizzeria and juggled three other jobs. Ever since her husband filed for a divorce and left the country, it was hard for her to sustain the household alone.

"I'm sorry, but your behavior was unacceptable. I would be willing to let it slide if it were just one or two people, but what you did made my business take a big hit. I'll give your mother a raise though, she's been trying to work overtime and deserves it. As for you, it's time to start looking for another job."

However, Aziz and the boy both knew the likelihood of that was slim to none. In the current economy, a majority of career services required some form of a quirk. Izuku Midoriya was at a disadvantage due to this particular eligibility, the freckled teen was classified as quirkless at a young age.

With some reluctance, Izuku accepted his dismissal and turned in his uniform. When the proper transaction was made for him to officially leave, the boy began to walk home. The pizzeria had provided him with a means of transportation up until then, a scooter of sorts, but he had lost that privilege. Izuku did have a pass to take the train, but he preferred to take this stroll and get some much needed air.

Izuku absentmindedly pulled out a notebook marked **#13** and wrote down some details he remembered about the customer that could open warp gates. Ever since the boy was deemed quirkless, he worked hard to improve his observation skills and analyzed other people's abilities. Much like most children these days, Midoriya wanted to become a hero. Without any physical attributes to help him, Izuku focused on enhancing his mind's critical thinking.

Pretty soon, the boy was mulling over information in his brain at a rate faster than most could comprehend. However, like a computer would overheat when processing tons of data so quickly, some of the erudition escaped his lips in an audible fashion. Civilians who happened to be in ear shot or were simply passing by shot him looks and tried to put distance between them.

Izuku was concentrating so much, that he practically sealed off the outer world. His body worked like it was on autopilot and managed to maneuver him through the other pedestrians. It only carried him for a short while though, it would need some troubleshooting when crossing the road. Rather than lifting his eyes from the notebook to look both ways, his feet moved for him without thinking.

The sound of a car horn broke his concentration and made him catch a glimpse of the panicked driver trying to slam on their breaks. Suddenly, his body kicked into third gear and launched him out of the way. This newfound form of autopilot caught Izuku off guard and made him scream as he flew through the air. A common superhero was capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound, and now Izuku could do exactly that.

Just as the teen began worrying about his descent, he came in contact with a brick wall. Surprisingly, he stuck to the surface like Velcro. Izuku was in such a shocked fascination, that he frantically scurried up the wall.. like a spider. When the young Midoriya reached the rooftop, he grabbed onto an exhaust pipe to pull himself up. With immense strength, the metal was crushed in his grip.

Izuku was overwhelmed by the sudden display of powers. His mind went into overdrive as he ran through the scenario and abilities portrayed.

Advanced acrobatics to evade a head on collision.

"To what limit can I use this? Am I capable of dodging attacks? I didn't intend to move out of the way, so is it controllable? Wait, does that mean I have a third sense too?"

Clinging to surfaces.

"Does it need to be a smooth surface? Do I need to plant all five fingers on something for this ability to take effect? How adhesive is this particular power anyway, is it like glue or duct tape that can be peeled off easily?"

The profound proportionate strength.

"I doubt I'm anywhere near as strong as All Might, but it's still fascinating! I wonder how much I can lift before I reach my limit? Can I improve my stamina like natural exercise benefits for strength growth?"

Then, like a computer, he crashed. It took a moment to reboot, but..

"WAIT, OH MY GOD, I HAVE A QUIRK!"


	3. Great Power

"I don't know how it's possible with the extra toe joint, but your son clearly shows signs of having a quirk!"

The doctor was flabbergasted to say the least. Izuku showed a spectacular demonstration of the powers he recently received to prove his claim of gaining a quirk. Even after several MRI Scans and X-Rays alongside DNA tests, it was deemed an amazing fantasy.

"What really surprises me though, is that your boy's quirk shows no resemblance to yours or his father."

It was true. Inko had the ability to attract small objects while Izuku's father showed signs of a fire breathing quirk. This left the doctor and Midoriyas confused as they considered the possibility of a distant relative passing down their generation.

"Regardless, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. What would you like to call your quirk, young man?", the doctor clicked his pen and prepared to archive it on his clipboard.

Izuku began considering the marvelous powers that came as a package deal. All of them seemed to relate to arachnid tendencies and only appeared after the strange spider bit him. He hasn't shown signs of spinning webs out of his ass yet, thank God, but it still felt like the most plausible explanation.

" _ **Spider-Senses.**_ "

The doctor raised an eyebrow, "May I ask why you went with this particular title?"

Izuku nodded while clearing his throat, he was actually excited to explain himself.

"Whenever my quirk first manifested, it felt like all of my senses tingling at once. I instantly became aware of my surroundings and reacted to it accordingly. It was like I could feel all of my abilities at once without knowing what they are or using them.. like they were at my disposal in whatever way I needed them to be."

The doctor and Inko listened intently until his speech turned into a rambling stockpile.

"That works for me. Congratulations on your recently developed quirk, Mister Midoriya."

The quirk titled _**Spider-Senses**_ was then added to the archive.

Afterwards, Izuku was eager to tell his childhood friend about the miracle quirk. While Inko prepared her son's favorite meal for dinner, Katsudon, Izuku ran to the neighbor's house.

A teen with blonde hair that looked like it just crawled out of bed and inhabited his head answered the door to Izuku's rapid knocking.

"QUIT BANGING THE FUCK OUT OF THE SHITTY DOOR, FUCKING PUNY DEKU!"

The teen with such an explosive greeting is none other than Katsuki Bakugo. Izuku learned rather quickly that the boy's default emotion is pure rage. Normally, Izuku would flinch back and profusely apologize for angering his supposed friend, but he was far too energized on excitement.

"Kacchan! I finally got my quirk!", the young Midoriya also discovered it was better to get straight to the point when speaking with Katsuki. The ashy blonde would get annoyed whenever somebody beat around the bush in a conversation, so Izuku avoided making such a mistake.

Katsuki's scowl briefly flashed to an expression of surprise, but immediately returned to a prominent frown. "You gotta be shitting me. Whatever it is, you're still a useless Deku that'll never be up to par with me!"

Izuku momentarily sulked at that reaction. He was expecting Katsuki to finally accept him as an equal, so the two could go back to being best friends. Then again, this probably shouldn't have come as a surprise. After all, Katsuki crafted a cruel nickname out of Izuku's Kanji that practically meant 'worthless'. While young Bakugo called his friend a useless & puny Deku, Izuku praised his friend's strength and pride by calling him Kacchan. It had always been this way. A yin and yang. Destined rivals.

Izuku frantically shook his head in denial to his friend's degrading remark.

"No, Kacchan, that's not true! I'm not useless anymore, I'm strong like you! I can do all sorts of things actually, it's not even like I'm limited to one ability-"

Katsuki lost his patience with Izuku's rambling. His palms sparked with the threat of becoming massive explosions and veins bulged from his forehead. "Stop pussy footing around the subject and just fucking show me your shitty quirk!"

Izuku instinctively withdrew from the explosive reaction. When he recovered from the snappy attitude that Katsuki displayed, Izuku willingly complied with his friend's request. In one full motion, the green haired wonder leaped into the air while rotating his body to face downward. Instead of landing on his head, the freckled boy grabbed a nearby lamppost and held on. Izuku couldn't help but grin as he hung upside down from the streetlight.

"That's it? You can stick to shit? I knew you had a lame ass quirk! You're still a puny fucking Deku!"

Judging by Katsuki's outburst, he was rather unimpressed by Izuku's show. Before the green haired boy could protest and show off his other capabilities, Katsuki slammed the door shut.

Izuku thought about knocking on the door again, but he knew that would just irritate the blonde further. Instead, the young Midoriya dropped to the ground like a woeful acrobat. With self pity, the boy stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to tread home.

Inko praised her son as soon as he walked through the door, but it didn't seem to have as much of an impact as it should've. Not even the celebratory Katsudon could manage to cheer up Izuku.

As he often would when feeling sad, Izuku crouched over his computer in the dark to watch All Might videos. The hero always smiled in the face of disaster, like he knew everything would turn out okay. All Might never failed to prove that theory correct, he always managed to save everyone and defeat the villain. Whenever Izuku saw that smile, he knew everything would be fine. Why? Become All Might was there!

Izuku wanted to save people with a smile too. He wanted to reassure them that everything would be fine. Even if you're quirkless and the odds are stacked against you, even if everyone says you can never achieve your goals... it would all turn out okay.

So, now that he finally has a quirk to back up that belief, why does he still feel so worthless?

Like always, that emotion gave Izuku the drive to prove Kacchan wrong.

Like he had done with his mind, Izuku planned to train, only it was now time for his body.

"I could run cardio and lift weights, but that would only help me a little.. I need to find a way to improve my reflexes and other senses too.. but how?"

An ad for a freelance wrestling event gave him the answer.


	4. Great Responsibility

"Have a good day at school, Izu!"

"Thanks, bye mom!"

Inko waved and watched her son walking down the sidewalk. Izuku seemed more chipper this morning and scarfed down his breakfast like he was in a hurry. Inko assumed her son was just excited to show off his quirk to the class. After making sure her adorkable cinnamon roll was safely on route to school, she went back inside and gently closed the door.

It was then that Izuku spun back around and began walking in the opposite direction. In his backpack, was a train pass hidden in between two of his textbooks. Instead of partaking in his usual class lessons, Izuku planned to attend the wrestling event he read about last night. Of course, he couldn't tell his mom he was skipping school to fight adults in a ring, so he decided to keep it a secret.

Nobody seemed to question a kid taking the train instead of attending school, which Izuku was thankful for. Even so, he wanted to keep a low profile. The problem child proceeded to change out of his school uniform and into the wrestling attire he packed. A pair of red sweatpants & long sleeved shirt matched his infamous sneakers. He then pulled a blue hoodie over his head, it was missing its sleeves due to one time that Katsuki singed them, but that's besides the point. Izuku also thought it was a good idea to thrown in some craftsmanship by drawing a spider insignia on the chest, although it came out looking a little crooked. Even so, the outfit would be inconspicuous enough as long as he didn't wear the mask he also packed.

Izuku stuffed the balaclava in his hoodie pocket before kicking the bathroom door open. He pulled the hood over his mess of curly green hair in an attempt to go unnoticed, but it kinda made him look more suspicious if anything. With a hefty huff, Izuku slumped in the closest chair and dropped his backpack beneath the seat. For the rest of the ride, he popped some headphones in and listened to music whilst staring out the window.

After a long trip and a short nap, Izuku arrives at his destination well rested. Its quite nerve-racking for him to mingle among the busy city of Hosu. After being pushed and shoved by several crowds, Izuku manages to find the address he made sure to memorize. With a little hesitance, the boy slips into the building and makes sure to cover his face with the mask.

A woman with purple skin and tentacles for hair holds out her hand to stop Izuku at the next doorway. In her hand is a clipboard, which makes Izuku assume she's the secretary or a bouncer or sorts.

"I'm supposed to ask if you're here to fight or place a bet, but judging by your ridiculous getup, I can already assume which.", the woman rolls her eyes to match the tone of boredom.

Izuku couldn't help but raise an eyebrow under his mask. The lady wore a glittery outfit that barely passed as a dress, Izuku honestly thought it was a shirt at first and that she forgot to wear pants. Normally, he would be reduced to a blushing and stammering mess. However, for some reason he couldn't quite place, Izuku felt a sense of confidence overcome him and he voiced his thoughts.

"Look who's talking."

The quip has a playful aura behind it and makes the woman scoff.

"If you're fighting, I'm also supposed to tell you that quirk usage is permitted in our match ups and there's no medical procedure upon injury."

Izuku suppresses a shudder and swallows his spit so his voice won't crack when replying. "I understand."

The lady nods in approval before clicking a pen that she didn't have in her hand before. Izuku resists doing a double take since his enhanced senses didn't seem to pick up where it came from. He preferred to think it had to do with her quirk than anything else, considering the skimpy dress has no pockets.

"Alright, I just need your name for the record and then I can let you in."

Izuku feels initial panic settle in and considers running away. He doesn't want this sort of thing on a report to prevent him from becoming a hero. He also worries about everyone discovering his age and the repercussions that could come with it. In a desperate attempt to avert any trouble, he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

"Deku!"

The lady spares a glance up from her clipboard before shrugging and writing it down.

"Now that this is official, you should also know that there's a reward if you happen to win a match. We split half the earnings of whatever people bet against you if you agree to come fight for us again."

Izuku nods in consideration of this new information.

With that, she opens the door and Izuku is nearly blown from the entrance by the roars of an anticipating crowd. It isn't until he steps through that he spins around and remembers to ask, "Hey, w- wait, what about the rules?"

The bored expression on the purple woman's face shifts to a grin.

"There are no rules."

Then she slams the door in Izuku's face.

Meanwhile, Inko Midoriya has to profusely apologize to a table she's waitressing due to her cellphone going off. When the single mother sees that the caller ID is the school her son goes to, she immediately answers.

"This is Inko Midoriya. Is my son okay?!"

The voice on the other end of the line clears its throat before responding.

" _That's what we were calling to ask about. We were worried when Izuku didn't show up for class."_

Inko fumbled with her phone for a moment, careful not to lose her grip.

"B- But I saw him off this morning! My Izu would NEVER skip class, he must be in danger or something!", the greenette began to panic.

" _Would you like us to put in a call to the police precinct?"_

Inko had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from instantly begging the caller to warrant a search party. In an attempt to calm down, she spoke to herself more so than the school representative.

"N- No, I could be overreacting.. M- Maybe he got turned around and went back home. I'll try calling him first and see if he turns up."

" _Very well. If there's anything else, don't be afraid to call us back, the school is at your disposal."_

"Thank you.", Inko hung up and began frantically searching for her son's contact.

Back at the wrestling ring, Izuku found himself prepping for his first fight. He never imagined he'd have an audience for it. The whole thing was even being hyped up by the announcer.

"The next match up is one for the ages folks! His name may not be flashy, but his quirk certainly is, give it up for Martin Li!"

On cue, a man cloaked in what looks like a pure chakra of darkness flings himself into the ring. The glowing energy looks like pure power and gets the crowd applauding.

"Yes, he may look the same tier as All Might.. but will it be enough to brush shoulders with the likes of, the terrifying, the sensational, the amazing DEKU!"

The announcement was one that could give Present Mic a run for his money, but it gave too many expectations, the crowd wasn't expecting to see a runt dressed in baggy clothes.

Much to his humiliation, Izuku entered the ring to a round of laughter and booing.

"It looks like we've already got a fan favorite. I know who I'LL be betting on!", even the announcer joined in on the teasing.

Izuku decided to tune them out and focus on developing a strategy to defeat his opponent. From what he's able to see, the quirk can be an emitter kind, transformation type, or even a mutation. As he tries to figure out which one of the three his hypothesis could be, Martin Li interrupts the thought process.

"Hey, 'Deku', you might as well drop out now.. you don't stand a chance."

"Well, aren't you Mister Negative.", Izuku gives a smart alec response without comprehending he did so.

Then, the bell ding indicates the fight can begin.

Much like when Izuku dodged the car, he feels a strange sensation in the back of his skull. The tingling of his senses makes him act on reflex and expertly avoid some sort of energy blast. Izuku chalks up the move as the man's mainstream quirk.

"He must be able to create concentrated pulses from his stored chakra. If I can wear him down, he won't have any left and I can finish him off easily..", Izuku mutters a plan to himself while dodging two more beams of power.

Izuku can see Martin Li becoming more and more frustrated while evading the blasts. It's at that point, that Izuku decides to have a little fun with his opponent.

"Missed me!", the masked Deku shouts while rolling away from a predictable laser beam. "Missed me again!", he can't help but laugh at how easy it is to avoid getting hit by the streams of chakra.

It's after leaping over Martin Li's head to dodge a bigger blast that Izuku feigns a fake sigh. "You aren't very good at this, are you?", he can't help but taunt the aggravated man.

"I was trying to take it easy on you, but you asked for it!", Martin retorts.

"Uh oh, I'm in trouble now.", Izuku resists a snicker as he sarcastically replies.

It's then that Martin Li places his palms on the ring's floor. Izuku watches as a glow begins to increase in size from the man's hands. Like a wild fire in the forest, a darkness spreads and consumes the ground. Izuku tries to back away, but it manages to latch onto his feet and plant him in place.

The masked Deku looks as if he's developing a migraine, clutching his head in agony. The overriding sense of danger fractures Izuku and he finally understands why he had been so confident. It wasn't because of the mask and some strange sense of shyness vanishing. The reason he had been so snarky with the purple lady and his opponent.. is because he's afraid.

The quips are some kind of defense mechanism. Much like watching All Might videos made him feel better, the jokes were an attempt to lighten the mood and lessen his anxiety. Right now, no wise cracks came to mind as the dark chakra climbed up his legs. Only fear could manage to override his senses.

"My quirk is called **D-Lite** , cause' I can generate both Lightforce and Darkforce. I can control it by manifesting them as a photographic black or white energy. While its easier to shroud myself with it, I'm not limited to sharing it either!", Martin Li brags and boasts about his power.

Izuku can't help but gasp, he completely underestimated his enemy. He had been comparing Martin Li to Kacchan's quirk and how it excreted power when it was really like Cementoss. While the physical attributes were an indicator to increased bodily potential, he could also release his power into his surroundings to manipulate what he touches.

"Well, you aren't the only one with more than one use to their quirk!", Izuku shouts back.

With as much mustered strength he could manage, Deku released a battle cry and his fist collided with the stage. The ground shook with a miniature shockwave that broke Martin Li's Darkforce manipulation. Cracks in the damaged floor threw the chakra powered man off balance. This is the opening Izuku used to leap forward and strike him across the jaw.

In a desperate attempt to shake Deku off, Martin released another pulse of energy. Izuku ducked to the right and rebounded with another punch to the man's cheek. Both fighters cried out in grunts of effort as Deku rolled to the left and threw two jabs.

The final blow needed to win was a swift kick to Martin Li's chin.

The referee checked on the defeated fighter and lifted Izuku's arm in the air.

"Deku Wins!"

The crowd burst into a fit of applause and cheers.

The only one unenthusiastic by all of this, was Inko Midoriya. She was physically trembling with worry for her child since Izuku hadn't answered his phone. Eight missed calls, seven text messages, and one voicemail.

After the match, Izuku found himself in the business owner's office. Izuku couldn't help but smile cheek to cheek under his mask as he watched the guy count through stacks of yen. He had proven himself capable of fighting powerful people, that he wasn't just a puny Deku like Kacchan said. Now, he was going to be paid handsomely for his efforts.

"You've been standing there for a few minutes now, are you gonna say something or what?", the chubby man with fish gills finally addressed Izuku was in the room with him.

"O- Oh! Um, yeah.. The lady at the front told me you'd split the earnings if I won and this c- could possibly even become a regular gig.", Izuku reverted to his usual stammering shy & awkward state.

The fat fish garbled on laughter, "Didn't she mention you also need to give your actual name? Seriously, you didn't even bother coming up with a fake last name. Besides, you expect me to work with a guy in a mask? I can't trust ya for nothing!"

Izuku glanced between the guy with gills and yen. "But.. I earned that. This wasn't part of the deal. I won the fight."

The man shrugs before waving Izuku off, "I don't see how that would end up becoming **my** problem."

With a disappointed and mildly angry huff, Izuku exits the office. On his way out, he passes someone with a mutation quirk that makes them look like dark green slime. The two barely acknowledge one another, Izuku figures he's just another freelance wrestler about to get scammed.

When he's certain that nobody else is in the hallway, Izuku pulls off his mask and blue hoodie. After stuffing it in his backpack, Izuku clicks the call button on the elevator. As he waits for the lift to become available, he files through his phone to see all the missed messages from Inko. Since he's supposed to be in school, he decides not to respond in an attempt to avoid raising suspicion. All that's next is to pop in the earplugs and listen to music on his way out of the city.

However, Izuku ends up hearing a commotion that draws his attention to the fat fish chasing the green slime from earlier. Izuku spots a bag filled with yen in the guy's hand and instantly realizes its a robbery. Normally, he'd step in and try to help. However, Izuku remembered the fat fish ran a scam and decides that this is the proper form of justice. All it takes is stepping out of the way so the slime can get in the elevator to escape.

"Thanks kid!", the slime gargles.

The man with gills takes a moment to huff and puff with his hands on his knees. After catching his breath, the fat fish faces Izuku with a look of anger.

"What the hell is wrong with ya?! You let that guy get away with my money!"

Izuku figured this was the best opportunity to teach the man a lesson.

"I don't see how that would end up becoming **my** problem.", karma's a bitch.

Izuku popped his headphones back in before heading to the train station. It would be an uneventful journey home, but watching the buildings whiz by was peaceful. Izuku didn't even bother changing back into his school uniform, his mom would usually still be working and that gave him some leeway.

He couldn't suppress a yawn while stepping off the train. Much like jet lag or how people could get car sick, Izuku was feeling the effects of traveling back and forth. That's not mentioning the absence of a lunch and the pure exhaustion of actually fighting someone. He was looking forward to a shower and maybe a quick nap before his mother came home. If he's lucky, there would also be some leftover Katsudon he could reheat.

Suddenly, his internal thought process and leisurely stroll is interrupted by mass panic. Izuku pulls his earplugs out and spins around to see pedestrians screaming whilst running left and right. He edges closer to the source rather than joining them in evacuating and discovers a rather large crowd.

"Wh- What's going on?", Izuku tugs on a guy's shirt by the elbow much like a child would to gain attention from their parent.

"Eh? There's been a villain attack. Some lady is getting looked at by the paramedics. They're saying not even All Might could save her.", the man turns to address Izuku momentarily.

Izuku couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He didn't know why it felt like such a big deal, villain attacks weren't uncommon. As a matter of fact, Izuku read about one this morning on a forum, some giant villain was apprehended by a hero making their debut called Mt. Lady. However, something felt off about this particular incident. It was practically in between his home and his school. Izuku then remembered something.. the guy said a lady was hurt. His mom had called and messaged him a bunch.

"Excuse me! Sorry, pardon me! I gotta get through!", Izuku broke into a frenzy and began squeezing through the legs of taller beings. It was like going through undergrowth to reach the center.

Much to his horror, Izuku found Inko Midoriya on a stretcher at the source of commotion.

"N- No..", the boy felt tears prickling at his eyes as he shook his head in denial. He tried to dart forward so he could be by her side, but one of the pro heroes that had been at the scene grabbed hold of him.

"Hey, not so fast kid!", Izuku spared a glance to see that it was Death Arms.

"Please, that's my mom!", Izuku choked out a sob as he struggled in the man's grip.

The hero's face fell when he heard that. Izuku took the moment of weakness to kick Death Arms in the shin and break free. Without delay, Izuku was at his mother's bedside.

"Mom! Please be okay!", he wept over her. He had never seen her so pale.

Inko lolled to the side, barely conscious. Through watery eyes, she saw her son in blurry vision. "I- Izu?", her voice was raspy like she had been choked.

"It's me mom, it's Izuku, I'm here.", the freckled teen grabbed his mother's hand in reassurance. "It's fine now. I'm here."

Inko's lips quivered as she tried to smile but failed to do so. Only more tears leaked from both the Midoriya's eyes. "Izuku..", she barely whispered her son's name one last time.

Then, Izuku felt her hand slip. The single mother's arm fell limply to the side.

"..Mom?..", Izuku's voice cracked like his heart.

A massively strong hand placed itself on the now orphaned child's shoulder, but it was ever so gentle. "I'm so sorry for your loss.. Really kid, I'm sorry.", Death Arms found himself at a loss for words.

"W- Wh- What happened?", Izuku tried to speak in an even tone but failed miserably.

"The villain.. None of us had quirks capable of fighting it. We were waiting on a more capable hero to show up and.. they were too late.", Death Arms explains sympathetically.

Izuku lifted his head enough to see the amount of heroes in the area. There was already Death Arms, but also Backdraft and Slugger. There were also fairly new rookies, but that didn't make their failure acceptable. "You're telling me.. that not only you, but SEVERAL heroes were here.. and you did NOTHING? You just.. WATCHED? You sat by while my mother died?", Izuku felt anger boiling over.

Death Arms staggered like the verbal assault was a blow to his chest. His hand shakily raised off of Izuku's shoulder, he was far too ashamed to console the boy.

" _The perp was spotted heading underground. We have reason to believe they'll be using the sewage system to flee. Units now in route. Please respond."_

Izuku didn't register his fist clenching as he heard an officer's radio buzz with news of the villain responsible for his mother's murder.

His legs moved on their own. His hands dug into his backpack and he pulled out the wrestling attire from earlier. While still maintaining a sprint, Izuku slips the hoodie over his torso and then covers his face with the mask.

After finding the nearest manhole cover, Izuku uses his newfound strength to rip it off. So he can travel faster and avoid sloshing through fecal matter, he begins crawling on the ceiling. The perpetrator couldn't have gotten far, it would only take a while to search the sewers. The minor buzzing in his head acted like a homing beacon to danger, and it would certainly register a villain as danger. Izuku used that part of his senses to track down his mother's killer.

Eventually, Izuku felt the tingling growing stronger and heard a sewer grate being torn open nearby. He moved swiftly in pursuing the suspect and didn't bother looking to see who he tackled. He was surprised to feel a watery impact instead of something solid, as if he nosedived into the slop instead of onto the surface. It was only when he rolled to his feet and faced the villain that he realized why.

"You.."

Izuku felt like a balloon ready to float into the atmosphere, or perhaps one ready to pop, he wasn't sure. Regardless, it was a terrible feeling. The sense of shame and guilt became overwhelming, like a weight that would crush him despite his enhanced strength. The memories of recent events were lighter than a feather and could easily sweep him off his feet with how weak he felt.

The green slime from the wrestling ring. The criminal that robbed the fat fish scammer. The sludge villain that murdered his mom. It was the same person that Izuku stepped aside for. He had been a hypocrite to Death Arms, he was shaming the hero for doing nothing, but he had done the same. Everything Izuku had done was selfish and it got his mother killed.

"You don't look like any hero or vigilante I know. So I'll take it that you're a medium size meat bag for the taking!", it was the sludge's turn to taunt Izuku. It made him regret how he acted under the guise of Deku even more.

Since he had no witty comeback, all Izuku could do was summon his inner Kacchan and roar in rage.

With as much force into it as he could muster, Izuku punched the slime. The criminal splattered into bits, but almost instantaneously reformed. Izuku performed an array of backflips to avoid getting snagged by the stray puddles of sludge grasping at his legs.

It was difficult for him to focus with all the hatred flooding his mind, but Izuku began to work on analyzing his opponent. The villain showed its body could withstand physical attacks, so there must be some other weakness. Izuku had spent years studying quirks and learned they all have at least one drawback to exploit. Even with revenge filled desires, Izuku's senses manage to help him evade a grab made by the slime villain.

"Hold still, stop making this so difficult!", the gargling voice beckoned.

Izuku saw red and momentarily understood what it was like to be Katsuki Bakugo. He had no control over his body as he launched itself at the slime villain and released a flurry of punches. Most of them bounced off the criminal like he was made of jello, but some managed to splatter the body.

After he regained his composure, Izuku jumped back and began to observe the villain again. Sliding to the side, he dodges a tendril made of sludge. Izuku leaps onto a nearby bridge to avoid getting snatched by a second tentacle. With each evasion, Izuku notices the villain's eyes track the movements. That's the part of the criminal that remained solid and vulnerable.

Making his move, Izuku leaps from the bridge and slams his leg into where the villain's head should be. Shockingly, the sludge moved and Izuku ended up creating a pothole. The criminal spoke from behind Izuku now, "You're fast! But so am I!"

Izuku felt his head throb with a warning, but it wasn't enough to help him escape getting grabbed by the sludge. The slime began consuming him, wearing the boy like a coat. Izuku thrashed and desperately screamed in frustration as he tried to escape the death grip. That shouting was silenced by the slime seeping into Izuku's mouth, despite the mask. He choked and gagged on it as he began to suffocate.

"Don't bother struggling! Fighting it will only make it hurt worse!", the slime slurped like it was about to eat a tasty snack.

That remark was enough to send Izuku into another rage filled vendetta. He tore his arm free from the sludge long enough to shove his thumb into one of the villain's eyes. Both fighters yelled over one another as they thrashed left and right. Izuku crammed his finger deeper into the socket as the villain writhed in pain. It was eventually enough to make him release Izuku and the boy scrambled to safety.

Coughing and taking in gasps of air, Izuku crawled toward a fire hydrant. He developed a new plan to combat the sludge villain's unbeatable body. His hands shakily grasped the hydrant and he began to pull so it could come loose. Meanwhile, the slime crook recovered from losing an eye and hissed in seething anger.

"Get back here!", the sludge shot out another tendril that Izuku countered by throwing the hydrant into.

Now that a geyser of water was spraying into the sky, Izuku stepped over it to redirect the stream. As he had predicted, the jet of water railed the villain and seemed to make his slimy form melt.

"Plleeasse, just gimme a channncce!", the sludge barely managed to garble his plea.

"What about my mother?! Did you give HER a chance?! DID YOU?!", Izuku retaliated.

"Wwwhhooo aarree yooouuu..?", the slime was starting to dissolve.

Izuku yanked the balaclava off his face. The mess of curly green hair and freckles were the only thing that made him recognizable to the villain, otherwise, most would pass him off as 'plain looking'.

The sludge thief's one good eye widened in shock.

"You.."

Izuku lifted his foot from the water fountain.

"Me."

"FFF- Fuck you, kid!", the slime gasped as it tried to recover from its weakened state.

Izuku didn't bother pressing the conversation. He had exacted his revenge and served justice. It wouldn't be long before the authorities apprehended the criminal. If what the one guy said back at the crime scene was true, even All Might was in the area looking for this villain.

The clad red & blue figure used his astounding agility to climb a nearby building so he could perch on one of the gargoyles. From this vantage point, he could make sure the sludge criminal was apprehended. Izuku used the time it took to wait as a chance to finally look at his phone. The caller ID of his mother and all the missed messages still haunted the poor boy.

With trembling fingers, Izuku opened the messenger app to read his mother's missed texts.

 **Mom: Izuku, please answer your phone!**

 **Mom: You're not in trouble, I'm just worried. Call me. Or text.**

 **Mom: I'm going out to look for you.**

 **Mom: Answer my calls.**

 **Mom: IZUKU, ANSWER ME!**

 **Mom: I'm sorry, I'm not mad, just please respond!**

 **Mom: I'm so worried Izuku, please!**

 **Mom: People are saying there's a villain attack, you need to go home right now!**

Izuku had to cover his mouth to prevent releasing a scream of distress. That last message meant she had put herself in harm's way because of HIM. Izuku nearly fell off his perch from how much shaking and sobbing he was currently doing.

Thumbing through the missed calls, he landed on the voicemail. He wasn't sure if he was ready to hear her voice again, but he pressed the playback button anyways.

" _Izuku, I don't know where you've run off to.."_

Just like her text messages said, Inko didn't sound mad. She was just a very concerned mother.

" _But I understand why. I know that you were bullied for being quirkless. I'm sorry, I knew all along and never said anything.. I'm such a terrible mother.."_

"N- No! Don't.. D- Don't say that, mom! You w- were.. You were the best!", Izuku sniffled and choked as he tried to speak to someone that couldn't hear him.

" _Now that you developed your quirk, I understand why you would choose to avoid them. You were afraid that they would treat you differently now. I can see why that would hurt you and make you leave."_

Izuku thought about Kacchan and how he had gone to the wrestling tournament in order to prove himself.

" _But you also have to remember something for me.. Even after I'm gone.."_

Izuku cried even harder as he slowly nodded his head. "Anything, mom, I'll remember."

" _With great power.. there must also come great responsibility."_

Izuku watched as the police arrived alongside All Might. The sludge villain was forced into quirk suppressing cuffs.

" _Remember that Izuku, remember that."_


	5. Keeping Up With The Bakugos

"Deku! Are you fucking dumpster diving again, you stupid bastard?!"

A mop of green hair popping out of discarded trash would answer that question.

"K- Kacchan!?", the filthy freckled boy was surprised to see his childhood friend.

"I figured I'd find your stupid ass in this goddamn junk heap. Come on, the old hag wants us home for her shitty dinner and I'm not waiting on your sorry ass."

Izuku dusts himself off with a sigh, "Alright. I'm coming."

This certain thing has become a regular routine for the boys. After Izuku lost his mother to the sludge villain, he was sent to live with the Bakugos. Inko had left it in her will that she desired him to live with a family rather than go to some foster home. While it may not seem like it to most, Katsuki dialed it down on the use of profanity around Izuku. The two were technically brothers now.

That didn't stop Katsuki from getting pissed off when Izuku went to Dagobah Beach to shift through the scrap though. The freckled teen claimed he was searching for usable parts so he could work on a special project, but this has been going on for months. Katsuki was beginning to think it was an excuse for Izuku to clean up the mess, like some sort of training.

"You smell like shit.", Katsuki pulled up his shirt collar to cover his nose.

"S- Sorry..", Izuku walked a couple paces behind the blonde with his head hung low per usual.

Katsuki grunted in response.

After walking for a few minutes of silence, Katsuki looked over his shoulder to see Izuku still sulking. With an annoyed huff and a roll of his eyes, he decided to humor the other teen.

"So.. Did you find any useful shit this time?"

Izuku seemed to perk up a little at that, "Y- Yeah! I find this old motorcycle trigger, it's a little r- rusted, but it can still work!"

"What the hell are you working on anyway?", Katsuki looked back at Izuku again to read the boy's expressions.

"Oh.. Just s- something that can go along with my quirk.. Kinda like a support item!"

That was enough to satisfy the blonde, and the rest of the walk continued without a single other word.

Eventually, the two teens reached the Bakugo household. As soon as they stepped through the door, Izuku was polite enough to remove his shoes and set his bag down while Katsuki trudged towards the kitchen. As the freckled boy winded down, he could hear the muffled shouting in the other room.

"YOU FUCKING BRAT, YOU'RE GONNA TRACK SHIT THROUGH THE HOUSE, TAKE OFF YOUR FUCKING SHOES NEXT TIME!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, OLD HAG! I'LL DO WHAT I FUCKING WANT!"

Izuku suppressed a sigh. It was never this loud with his mother. The Midoriya thought he would get used to the change in environment by now, but it still felt so foreign. Without any further delay, Izuku shakes his angst filled thoughts and joins Katsuki in the kitchen.

"H- Hey Aunt Mitsuki.", Izuku greets his legal guardian. They both agreed it felt wrong for him to call her 'mom', so they took a page out of Katsuki's book when he would call Inko 'Auntie'.

"Izuku, how did you get so filthy?! Go wash up before we eat.", she usually refrained from using curse words when she spoke to him. Izuku quietly wondered how long that would last.

"Oh, um, y- yes Ma'am.", Izuku hurriedly ran to the bathroom to clean off the muck. All it took was a washcloth and the sink, but he certainly planned to shower after dinner.

"How did he get so fucking dirty?", Mitsuki turns her attention to her son again once the Midoriya is gone.

"The damn nerd went crawling through shit on the beach again.", Katsuki growled his answer.

"I really wish he'd stop doing that..", Mitsuki sighs under her breath.

The two firecrackers had their conversation interrupted by the arrival of another family member. As soon as they heard the door open and shut, they both knew who. Katsuki's father and Mitsuki's husband, a more mild mannered man.

"Uncle Masaru! W- Welcome home!", Izuku seemed to exit the bathroom at right about the same time.

"Thanks Izuku! You too!", the only rational Bakugo beamed with happiness and ruffled the boy's already messy green locks.

"Hey sweetie, dinner's just about done. How was work?", Mitsuki hugs her husband in greeting.

"Ah, you know how it is.", Masaru shrugs it off before turning to face his son. "How about you Katsuki, gonna say hello to your old man?"

"Fuck off!", Katsuki snaps like a vicious animal.

"BE NICE TO YOUR FATHER, BRAT!", Mitsuki wallops her son over the head for misbehaving.

"STOP FUCKING HITTING ME, OLD HAG!", Katsuki argues.

Izuku and Masaru share a look of enervation.

"It's alright. Let's just all calm down and eat as a family.", Masaru removes his glasses so he can rub his temples in frustration. Izuku always respected the man for living with this kind of thing on a frequent basis. He even looked like the outcast aside from the spiked hair style. While Mitsuki and Katsuki have blonde locks, Masaru sports the brown color. He's just so passive, that it really makes him stand out.

"It better fucking be something spicy.", Katsuki grumbles.

Izuku had also gotten used to eating over hot foods. He and Katsuki occasionally had eating contests to see who could withstand the spices longer. While their friendship wasn't completely mended, this didn't feel as forced either. The arrival of his quirk didn't affect the blonde as much as Izuku thought it would and he was now grateful for it.

"You can always add more Rayu if you want.", Masaru continued being the mediator. Izuku was thankful for this saint of a man, the two explosive blondes would have probably blown the house to smithereens without him.

Katsuki huffed as he practically emptied the jar of Rayu onto his dish. Mitsuki began to complain about having to buy a new one, but Izuku tuned out the impending argument in favor of eating. Masaru would no doubt calm the other Bakugos down by the time he finished his food.

However, a certain sentence caught the young Midoriya's attention.

"Actually, something interesting DID happen at work today. I just so happened to see All Might himself fly by the office window! Isn't that just amazing?"

"Yes. It makes me feel better that the number one hero is patrolling our streets now. Then maybe what happened to Inko won't happen to anyone else-", Mitsuki gasped and covered her mouth too late. She hadn't realized she was speaking so freely with Izuku at the table. "I'm sorry dear, I hope I didn't upset you."

Memories began to resurface of All Might arresting the sludge villain after it had already been defeated. Izuku recalled the other heroes like Death Arms that hadn't been capable of stopping it earlier. What really sickened him though, was the image of his mother's corpse flashing through his mind again.

A loud screeching noise came from the chair as Izuku stood up. He had dropped his silverware on the table with a clatter and accidentally bumped the furniture when trying to grab it again.

"Th- That's okay. I'm not really hungry anymore. Is it okay if I excuse myself and take a shower?"

Masaru and Mitsuki shared a concerned glance with one another. Katsuki seemed to be glaring daggers at his mother for slipping up on the mention of Inko. It only made Izuku even more anxious to get away from them.

"Yeah, that's fine Izuku, run along.", Masaru spoke for the other Bakugos.

With a grateful bow & nod, Izuku hurried to the bathroom once again. With the water running, they hopefully wouldn't hear his pitiful crying.

"Good job, mom!", Katsuki slammed his sparking hands on the table before storming away.

"Katsuki, get back here you fucking brat!", Mitsuki tried shouting over the sound of her son slamming his bedroom door.

When the enraged mother shifted to go after him, Masaru placed a hand on her shoulder to prevent it. "It's fine. He just needs some time to cool off."

Mitsuki refrains from snapping at her husband, opting to release her anger through a sigh instead. "I fucked up. Didn't I?"

Masaru shakes his head before pulling her into a hug, "No. It was an honest mistake. They'll get over it. They're only kids after all, you know how these teenagers can be."

"I guess you're right.. I still feel guilty though."

"That'll pass too. Just go relax in the bed and I'll take care of cleaning up the kitchen.", Masaru suggests.

"No, no. I'll be fine washing the dishes. It'll help take my mind off things.", Mitsuki protests.

With reluctance, Masaru agrees. "If you say so."

In the time that it takes to clear the table, Izuku finishes his shower. Midoriya is still amazed every time he catches a glimpse of his abs in the mirror. The muscle formation had begun when he first achieved his powers, but rapidly increased with his accidental training regime on the beach.

After concealing himself with a towel, Izuku makes a brisk walk for the room he shares with Katsuki. The blonde is too busy looking at his cellphone to even notice Izuku entering the same space. Katsuki is in a pair of shorts and tank top since he sweats nitroglycerin if he's too hot. Izuku found it interesting that the teen has to sleep without sheets, covers, or blankets and instantly added it to the notebook on quirks. Like most others, Izuku slapped on pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

"Are you going to bed already?", Katsuki asks without looking up from his phone.

"Yeah. I'm pretty tired.", Izuku admits.

Katsuki only scoffs before shifting to face the other direction. That's the usual way the two say goodnight to one another, so Izuku simply closed his eyes and drifted off on the spare futon.

Mitsuki cracked the door open an hour later to check on them. Izuku was fast asleep with a light snore, sprawled in an X formation. Katsuki had his back to her, hiding his phone while pretending to sleep. After peering into the bedroom for a while longer, Mitsuki gently closed the door and left.

Katsuki grumbled incoherent curses about how annoying his mother is while sitting back up in his bed. The blonde often had trouble sleeping and spent the night messing with apps on his phone. Hero feeds spammed his notifications so much that he eventually removed them and relied on asking Izuku about the news. Katsuki also became fed up with pop culture memes. All he had left was games that pissed him off when he lost. Every time he failed to beat a level, the teen screamed into his pillow to avoid waking everyone up.

Several hours later, he began watching Izuku stir in his sleep. The green haired boy fought with his covers before snapping awake with a small gasp. Katsuki let Izuku catch his breath through heavy panting before poking his shoulder.

"Oi, nerd, what was the shitty nightmare this time?"

This wasn't the first time Izuku had a bad dream. When Inko died, he had always woken up screaming. Katsuki tried prying into what he dreamt about, but Izuku kept his answers very vague.

Speaking in a hushed tone, the freckled boy sighed. "I saw her dying again. I couldn't help her.."

"There was nothing you could've done you shitty nerd. You weren't even there."

Izuku felt his heart throb. He never told Kacchan what had really happened. Nobody knew about the wrestling tournament or how he hunted the sludge villain down for revenge. Izuku didn't dare mention it to anyone, especially Katsuki Bakugo. Izuku knew the blonde would hate his guts again if he found out Inko's death was Deku's fault.

"Yeah..", was all that Izuku could say back.

"Wanna talk about it some more?"

"No."


	6. The UA Entrance Exam

Izuku Midoriya had always wanted to become a hero, even when he was quirkless. His desire to help people with a smile like All Might was what drove him. Izuku would be lying if he didn't say that dream was still alive, even if it was just a smoldering flame instead of a wildfire now. However, he had a new form motivation this day. Now that he was granted the gift of a quirk, he would use it responsibly. With great power, there must also come great responsibility. Izuku remembered what his mother had told him and used that as a mantra to strive ahead.

U.A High School is where people went to study & train with the aspirations of becoming heroes. Sure, there were other hero schools, but this is the top one in the country. The passing rate for the Entrance Exam was ten out of ten thousand attendees every session. This is where Izuku NEEDED to go if he was going to live up to his mother's wishes.

Katsuki Bakugo had similar ambitions, his eye had always been on U.A too. Much like Izuku when they were younger, his idol had been All Might. Katsuki had become infatuated with how the symbol of peace never lost a battle, even if the odds seemed stacked against him. That was the kind of hero Bakugo strived to become, one that would never lose.

Though their reasons may differ, Bakugo & Midoriya walk side by side towards their future.

"You'd better fucking ace this test, Deku."

Izuku let a small smile poke through. "Good luck to you too, Kacchan."

"Tch!", Katsuki picked up his pace. "Whatever."

Izuku tried to match the brisk walking speed, but in trying to catch up to his friend, ended up clumsily tripping. The old quirkless Deku would have probably fallen flat on his face. However, Izuku's Spider-Senses overrides his body and he catches himself. Other attendees in the surrounding area happen to notice his amazing reflexes and agility. Izuku blushes under the attention, he isn't as used to looks of awe, unlike Katsuki who receives praise on a regular basis for his quirk.

"Fucking showoff.", Kacchan scoffs.

Neither boy notices a short haired brunette with her arm reached out standing behind them. The girl retracts her hand with a bright smile and heads in the same direction with some pep in her step.

She ends up following them into an auditorium crammed with several others. There isn't any apparent designated seating, so the girl takes this opportunity to sit with them.

"Hi! I'm Ochaco Uraraka!", she introduces herself.

The one with green hair and freckles looks like he's having a mental breakdown while trying to stammer out a response. The blonde behind him smacks him upside the head to snap him out of it.

"I'm Bakugo and this is Deku."

"It's nice to meet you Bakugo-San and Deku!", Ochaco blinds them with such a bubbly attitude.

"A- Actually, Deku is just something th- that K- Kacchan calls me. I'm Izuku Midoriya.", the boy avoids making eye contact.

"Aww, how cute, you two gave each other nicknames! Well, I like them! Deku sounds like 'you can do it', and after seeing how you managed to stop your fall outside, I can totally see it!"

Izuku bashfully rubs the back of his neck with an awkward chuckle. "Y- You saw that, huh?"

Before Ochaco can respond, she notices that the lights are dimming. The commotion surrounding them also seems to be settling down. "Oh, it must be starting!", she exclaims.

A spotlight shines in the darkness to introduce a man on the stage. What must be a representative of U.A or one of the teachers waves to the crowd. The tall slender fellow looked like a cockatoo with his blonde styled to a point hair. His small mustache matches the pair of golden sunglasses on his face.

"What kind of schmuck wears sunglasses inside?", Bakugo grumbles.

Ochaco stifles a laugh at the side comment. The man did certainly dress weird, nearly completely motorcycle leather. The black jacket had an upturned collar and everything. What stood out most though, was the strange speaker device around his neck.

"It's the voice hero, Present Mic! Wow! I listen to his radio show every week. It's so inspiring. Guess all the U.A teachers are pro heroes, that's so cool!"

Ochaco nearly jumps out of her seat when she hears the muttering coming from Izuku. Luckily, Bakugo snaps him out of it by whacking the back of his head again.

"Shut up, nerd.", Katsuki adds for extra measure.

"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE!", Present Mic's voice booms through the auditorium. "Everybody say 'Hey!'", he exclaims.

Deafening silence follows the request. Ochaco has to stifle another laugh as the hero waits expectantly with his hand cupped over his ear.

"Well, that's cool my examinee listeners! I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical! Are you ready?!", the hero carries on.

Another beat of silence follows before Present Mic bellows for them, "YEEAAHH!"

Ochaco chances a glance at the boys she just met to see if they're containing laughter too. Deku looks like he's too starstruck by the hero to even know what's going on. Bakugo watches with a scowl and his arms crossed. The two look like polar opposites, she wonders how they became friends.

"This is how the test will go, my listeners! You'll be experiencing ten-minute-long mock cityscape maneuvers and a written portion! After the presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location!"

Present Mic whips around with two thumbs up.

"Bring along whatever you want!"

Izuku rubbing at something under the wrists of his shirt goes unnoticed by both Ochaco & Katsuki.

"Each site is filled with three kinds of faux villains. Points are awarded for defeating each according to their respective difficulty levels! Use your quirks and support items to disable these faux villains, and you'll earn points, that is your goal listeners!", Present Mic begins explaining the rules.

"Oh, I forgot to mention! Of course, playing the anti-hero and attacking other examinees is prohibited!", the hero adds this statement like its an after thought. Bakugo growls like a caged animal when he hears this news, making both Izuku & Ochaco sweatdrop.

Suddenly, a tall boy with blue hair and glasses stands up from a few rows down. "May I ask a question?!"

"Go right ahead!"

The boy points at some sort of pamphlet he managed to obtain. "There appear to be no fewer than FOUR varieties of faux villains on this handout! Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming of Japan's top academy"

The tall teen then spins around to face behind him, startling Ochaco and Izuku. "And you, with the curly hair!"

Izuku jolts while pointing to himself in worry, "Me?"

"Yes, you! You've been muttering this whole time! It's distracting! If you aren't going to take this seriously, then please leave immediately!"

Izuku yelps like a dog that's been kicked before apologizing and clamping two hands over his mouth. Ochaco frowns, clearly upset that Deku had been lectured by some kind of overachiever.

"Hey, leave him alone!", the brunette puffs up her cheeks in anger.

"Yeah! Fuck off, ya shitty extra!", even Bakugo joins in on defending Midoriya.

"How unbeffitting of a hero!", the boy in glasses gasps like he's offended.

"Alright, alright! Settle down!", Present Mic interrupts the mini feud. "Examinee 7111, nice catch on the faux villains, thanks! However, the fourth one gets you zero points, it's more of an obstacle."

"I see. Thank you, sir. I apologize for the interruption!", the blue haired teen bows before sitting back down.

"That being said, that's all from me! I'll leave my listeners with our school motto. The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said.. 'True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life.' PLUS ULTRA!"

Most of the crowd responds in unison, "PLUS ULTRA!"

The trio then discovered they had their own pamphlets attached to their seats. The transcript had a written format of the rules & regulations as well as a randomly selected testing site. Izuku tried to glance at Katsuki's, but the brash boy crumbled it up.

"Stop trying to peek at my shit, fucking Deku! It doesn't matter anyways, we've got different testing sites. Looks like I'll just have to crush you some other time."

"Wh- Wha?!", Izuku panicked at the implied challenge. Before he could try to call it off though, Ochaco snatched his paper and diverted his attention.

"Look Deku, you and I have the same exam location!", she cheerfully compared their pamphlets.

"I guess that's what you're gonna call me now..", Izuku mumbled before giving another of his infamous forced chuckles.

Ochaco didn't seem to hear him in all her excitement. "Come on, we're gonna be late if we don't hurry!", she grabbed onto the poor stammering boy's arm and pulled him towards the testing site.

Katsuki scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

In the end, Izuku ended up being grateful for Ochaco's forced enthusiasm. Her bubbly attitude was somewhat contagious and calmed his nerves about the exam. He also probably wouldn't have found the testing site without her. A group of other examinees stood out front a massive wall with iron doors. The fortification made most of the test takers stare in awe.

"Whoa, it's so big! U.A really knows how to inspire people!", Ochaco gawps at the infrastructure.

"O- Oh, I dunno if it was i- intentional. It was p- possibly designed to cater to people with p- particular quirks like Mt. Lady or-", Izuku fell into another one of his analytical ramblings.

"Yoohoo, earth to Deku!", even Ochaco waving her hand in front of his face didn't manage to snap him out of it.

Suddenly, the enormous iron doors cranked and began to lurch open. On the other side of them was a massive landscape designed to look like an actual city. Once again, the group was blown away by how 'plus ultra' the institution made things.

"AND BEGIN!"

The crowd made a conjuncture of confused noises when they suddenly heard Present Mic's voice blare through the opened gates.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! THE TEST'S STARTED! GO, GO, GO!", the second announcement from the obnoxious hero was so loud that it actually had a reverb.

Izuku was broken out of his muttering trance when one of the examinees brushed his shoulder through the instantly created stampede. The mass of testers trampled over one another as they scrambled to claim as many points as they could. Even Ochaco vanished into the city landscape. Only Izuku was left standing in the clearing.

"H- Huh?! Oh!", the freckled boy began to panic and sprinted after the others.

Upon entering the testing zone, Izuku could see all of the chaos suddenly created. Robots exploded left and right with all sorts of property damage. A guy with blades protruding from his knuckles slashed through bots like they were made of paper. Some other tester relied on using a garbage lid as a shield.

While taking in other people's surroundings, Izuku forgot to examine his own. A three pointer approached the distracted teen with programming to attack. The mechanical whirring grew louder as it got closer. Izuku finally noticed the incoming threat and yelped in surprise.

"Je t'ai eu!"

A laser beam suddenly impaled the three pointer, followed by an implosion. What remained of the robot teetered and collapsed just short of landing on Izuku.

"W- Was that french?", the freckled protagonist spun on a heel to see who rescued him.

"Wi, monsieur! I see you are a man of culture as well! We make a bien team, no? Although, I doubt we will see each other again. Adieu!", a flamboyant blonde bids farewell with grandeur before fleeing the scene.

Izuku takes a moment to shake off the strange encounter before his feet began carrying him through the manufactured streets. Several heaps of scrap and damaged robots clutter the neighborhood as Izuku sprints through several blocks in search of remaining ones. The boy begins to panic and grow desperate as he cuts through an alley to try and locate other machines.

That's when Izuku comes up with an idea.

The principal and teachers watch in confusion as the green haired boy with zero points begins to pull off his shoes. Next, comes off the socks. Once he's barefoot, he finally shows off his quirk and begins to crawl up the wall. While it isn't a very flashy quirk and most examiners lose their interest, the principal is still rooting for the underdog.

Izuku finishes scaling the building, opting to stand up once he's on the roof. It's then that it becomes clear what the boy's plan was. From this height, Izuku can get a better view of the area and spot more faux villains. It takes a while to scope out the city, but he catches glimpse of a lone droid several blocks away. Such a lengthy distance would allow the robot to move on before he could even run over there. Izuku would need to use another form of travel.

Rolling up his sleeves, Izuku exposes the project he had been working on. The boy fiddles with the devices attached to his wrists. The objects looked clunky and like they could fall apart any minute, there was even duct tape applied in some places. However, they proved operable when a strand of goo shot out of one with the press of a trigger. The elastic string attached to the building across from Izuku, hitting its mark.

With a small tug to make sure it was sticking properly, Izuku begins to trust his creation. There was much anticipation and curiosity from the principal watching him through a monitor; Izuku warily stepped onto the ledge of the roof. Both hands clasped the string now and the boy looked to be preparing himself with meditated breathing.

Then, Izuku stepped off the building and swung forward with a scream.

As he was just about to hit the building he was swinging toward, Izuku shot another strand of string to his left and released the old one.

The change in direction gained another shout from the boy as wind breezed past.

The sudden display from the underdog gained the other examiner's attention. They watched with the principal now as the kid with zero points swung upwards with momentum as if he were on a swing.

As he began to get the hang of it, Izuku's terrified yells turned into whoops of exhilaration.

A girl with earphone jacks hanging from her earlobes gasped in surprise when the boy swung overhead with a holler of joy.

The robot that Izuku had spotted earlier wasn't expecting a swift kick to blow it apart in one fatal move. Not once losing his rhythm, the teen spun another strand and pulled himself back into the sky.

After Present Mic picked his jaw off the floor from watching the swinging boy, he called out to inform the examinees, "FIVE MINUTES LEFT!"

The announcement fell upon deaf ears as Izuku enjoyed the rush of swinging through the city. His invention made entirely of garbage from a junkyard had actually managed to work! After connecting the dots that his quirk was related to a spider's abilities, Izuku decided to add webbing into the equation. The devices attached to his wrists were what he liked to call 'Web-Shooters'.

As the movement of rapidly flying towards the pavement and shooting back into the air became more thrilling than terrifying, Izuku decided to step it up a notch. With a whoop, he spun with grace and performed a trick mid swing. Firing the webbing soon came naturally as he navigated through the taller buildings and performed somersaults in the sky.

The principal was so infatuated with watching the fascinating movements that he almost forgot about the final challenge of the physical portion. Eager to see what his underdog would do in the face of danger, the head examiner pressed a giant red button to enact the main event.

Izuku felt a tingling sensation in the back of his skull as he fired the next web strand. His senses seemed to become more enhanced as he expertly swung through the city. This feeling only ever happened when something bad was bound to happen. That sense of dread proved to be reasonable, since the entire testing site began to tremble and shake.

"An earthquake?", Izuku wondered what could cause such a seismic reaction.

Buildings toppled and collapsed around a certain widespread area. Dust and debris began to wash over the streets in that particular spot, bringing even more devastation. Before Izuku could consider it being another examinee's quirk, he noticed something rising from the massive crater. It looked taller and wider than Mt. Lady with enormous rocket turrets. This couldn't possibly be..

"The zero pointer?!", Izuku shouted in shock.

Much like the day Izuku was heading home from the wrestling tournament, there was a mass panic. Examinees screamed and ran the other way in terror. Some of the testers shoved others to the ground in an attempt to stall the massive machine. These people weren't fit to be heroes. It reminded Izuku of the kind that figured difficult enemies such as this were meant for somebody else.

Admist the screaming, Izuku pinpointed a familiar one. "Help! I'm stuck!", it was Ochaco Uraraka! A pile of rubble was pinning down her leg. The poor girl was trapped and the impending faux villain only drew closer with no signs of stopping.

That was all Izuku needed to hear and see, he was rapidly swinging towards the robot now. He wouldn't be like the heroes that stood by and watched his mother in danger. He had a responsibility to protect people! He had the power to save lives!

"SPIDER.. SMMAAASSSHH!"

Combined with the velocity of his swing and the power of his punch, Izuku planted a giant dent in its chest. The momentum was also enough to cause an updraft capable of shoving the robot backwards. As the machine fell and broke down, Izuku spun another web to help with his descent.

"Deku?!", Ochaco exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the familiar head of green hair.

"It's okay now. I am here!", Izuku flashed her a reassuring smile and lifted the debris off of her leg. "Are you able to move?", his confidence faltered as concern simmered through.

"Y- Yeah. Thank you.", Ochaco meekly nodded her head as Izuku helped her stand.

From the observation room, the principal was searching a certain examiner's features to see what they thought of the boy's heroic display. The frail and skeletal being flashed a considerate smile and so did the principal.

"TIME'S UP!", Present Mic's booming voice nearly caused a second earthquake.

"Darn it! I was hoping I could get a few more points in!", Ochaco pouted. "What about you, Deku, how did YOU do?", the brunette then faced her friend & rescuer.

"Oh, I'm p- pretty sure I only managed to get one point..", Izuku let out a nervous chuckle.

"What?!", the girl nearly tripped on her limp and Izuku had to keep her from falling.

"H- Hey! Take it easy. You need to worry about yourself more than me."

"I agree!", a newcomer chimed in. An elder woman with what looked like a giant syringe for a cane made her way towards the duo. "Oh my, that leg doesn't look so good dearie, come here.", the lady began to fret.

While most people were surprised to see her kiss Ochaco's knee and for the injury to fade, Izuku instantly recognized the woman. "You're the youthful heroine, Recovery Girl, you can heal practically anything!"

The elder woman couldn't hold back a chuckle when meeting the fanboy. "Right you are, young man! Have some candy!", she then threw complementary gummies at Izuku's face.

"If some of you sustained any injuries, please go see Recovery Girl! Otherwise, make your way to the examination room to take your written portion! YEEAAAHH!", Present Mic shouted from the rooftops.

"O- Oh! I'd better go! I'll see you later, Uraraka!", Izuku spoke through a mouth full of gummies and waved goodbye before taking off.

"Your boyfriend seems like a nice fellow.", Recovery Girl hummed.

"B- BOYFRIEND?!", Ochaco shrieked as her face flushed red.

"Oh dear.."

Recovery Girl wasn't expecting the brunette to begin floating.


	7. Promises You Can't Keep

"ONLY **ONE** SHITTY ROBOT?! Dammit Deku!", Katsuki voiced the displeasure of discovering how poorly Izuku had finished the exam.

"M- Maybe I can still pass! As long as I score h- high enough on the written portion?", Izuku tried to reassure the blonde before he went nuclear.

Katsuki released a hiss that was meant to be a sigh before shoving his hands into his pockets. "Whatever! It's not MY fucking fault you flunked so hard!"

"S- Sorry, Kacchan..", Izuku flinched at how loud the other teen was yelling.

"It's not ME you need to apologize to, it's Auntie Inko!", Katsuki snapped.

That made both boys temporarily halt their walk back home. The tension was so thick, not even a knife could cut through it. Katsuki's scowl softened when he saw how hurt Izuku's expression was. While Izuku never shared the story of what really happened to his mother, he did tell Katsuki about his desire to become a hero in order to prevent another tragedy such as that.

"I.. I'll try to get into another school if I have to..", Izuku whimpered as he tried to hold back tears.

"Good. You still need to become a hero for her.", Katsuki accepted the common ground and started walking again.

With Izuku a few paces behind as usual, the blonde couldn't hear the soft whisper, "I know Kacchan, I promised her and that's a promise I intend to keep."

After a long day of endurance on their bodies and minds, the two head home to catch a few Z's. Much like a certain blue haired villain, they need rest for what's to come. The evil force stirs in his sleep, fingers twitching and aching to grab his sheets. Tortured grunts and moans escape the villain's chapped lips as he thrashes back and forth. Much like Izuku, the antagonist experiences dreadful nightmares. Both people have moments from their childhood that haunt them.

 _A child plays with one of his toys, completely oblivious to the adults arguing a room away. The boy's parents shout over one another, expressing their distaste for him. They believe he was born quirkless, and thus they considered him useless. The mother filed for a divorce without her husband's knowing, only to bring it up now._

 _She abandoned her child and lover. The father became enraged and blamed his son for her departure. The kid wasn't expecting his toy to be snatch away by the angry man. The father's quirk caused the plaything to melt once all five fingers touched it. Upon losing his toy, the kid began to cry._

 _The tantrum only angered the man further and caused him to lash out. The boy was given a busted lip from the backhand and plummeted in a sobbing heap. The father didn't stop there, he wanted to hurt the kid more, he wanted to punish the child for shaming him. More kicks and punches, the boy was beaten into a corner._

 _The child begged for his dad to stop, but couldn't escape the hand reaching for his face. The kid knew what would happen if all five fingers came in contact with flesh. In a desperate struggle to stop his father, the boy grabbed the man's wrist to hold it back._

 _It was then that Tomura Shigaraki's quirk finally received his quirk._

 _The boy's father was reduced to ash, with nothing but a severed hand remaining._

"FATHER!"

Shigaraki shot up from his bed, panting heavily. Clumsily searching the nightstand next to him in the dark, Tomura felt the familiar touch of what he needed. The object fit his face perfectly, it covered him with its warmth.

The erratic behavior dialed down now that he had his father with him.

By the time morning came, Katsuki found out that he had overslept. The strenuous over usage of a quirk can do that to people. What surprised the blonde though, was seeing Izuku completely awake and invested in one of his science geek projects. The freckled boy was hunched over their shared desk mixing chemical properties and writing gibberish in a spare notebook.

"What the fuck are you doing, nerd?", Katsuki groaned whilst pulling a pillow over his head with the desire to fall back asleep.

"Oh, sorry Kacchan, d- did I wake you?", Izuku showed concern in his tone but not once shifted his attention from the cluttered work space.

Come to think of it, the clinking of beakers and scribbling of a pen did happen to disrupt the blonde's beauty sleep. Rather than start a fight over it, Katsuki decided to show his annoyance by pointing out his 'brother' hadn't answered the prior question. "I asked what you're fucking doing, Deku!"

The freckled teen dodged a pillow thrown his way without even sparing a glance at it. "You can come here and take a look if you want. Maybe you can even help.", the vague answer only aggravated Katsuki further.

With a frustrated huff, the blonde saunters over to the broccoli head. Leaning over Izuku's shoulder, Katsuki can read all sorts of equations pertaining to a special adhesive. The beakers filled with different liquids must be what the nerd is trying to make. "I still have no fucking clue what this shit is supposed to be."

Izuku can't help but snort in humor. Katsuki may be a short tempered hothead, but he always showed a respectable amount of high intelligence. Out of the entire class, Bakugo & Midoriya were the top spots. If Izuku had managed to create something that not even Katsuki could understand, it meant he developed an all new kind of formula. Perhaps it was another part of his quirk. Perhaps Izuku was always this smart and just never applied himself. Either way, the feat was an impressive one.

"Remember when I told you I was developing a support item?", Izuku answered the blonde's question with another question. The only thing that stopped Katsuki from blowing up like a volcano over it, was that it could be clearly read as rhetorical. Bakugo simply nodded in response, silently telling Midoriya to continue explaining.

"Since my quirk is spider related, I decided to develop a form of webbing. This formula is the composition that it's made of.", Izuku gestures to the array of chemicals. "And this is how I excrete the webbing.", the teen then revealed the wrist mechanics that were kept stored in his backpack.

Katsuki weighed the hefty invention in his hand. "Judging by how shitty this shit looks, it must've been made from the crap you found on the shitty beach."

"Yeah. It worked surprisingly well during the Entrance Exam though.", Izuku shrugs.

"How come you only scored one point then, shit for brains?"

"Fair enough..", Izuku sighs. "But that's also why I'm refining it. If I'm going to try out for other hero schools, I need to be prepared. The webbing dissolves pretty quickly and I need to constantly make more to make up for it."

Katsuki gently tosses the wrist mechanics back to Izuku. "I dunno why you kept this a fucking secret from me."

"Well, I didn't know if you were going to be in the same testing site or not. I thought it would've made for a cool surprise if we were."

Katsuki nods in understanding before checking the alarm clock on his nightstand. "Shit, I really overslept, huh?"

Izuku hums while adjusting vials with delicacy. "Aunt Mitsuki made Gohan. There might be some leftovers you can have for breakfast."

Katsuki gave a thankful grunt in response. Just as the blonde was about to leave the room, Izuku held a jar of white murky liquid in his way.

"Could you put this in the fridge since you're on your way to the kitchen?"

Katsuki sneers before snatching the glass away from the other teen. "Fine.."

"Thanks Kacchan!", Izuku waves the other boy off before returning to his support gear.

However, Izuku Midoriya wasn't the only one preparing for their next step. Tomura Shigaraki sat idly at the bar where Kurogiri wiped down cups. Both villains were waiting on their Sensei to contact them. Speak of the devil, and they shall appear. The mini monitor on the counter lit up with no visual besides the usual text 'Only Audio'.

"How goes your preparation?"

Kurogiri speaks for Tomura at first, "We've recruited numerous candidates for our cause."

"All of them have been NPCs so far, but they'll serve their purpose. What really matters is the cheat code, when do I get the Nomu?", Shigaraki leaned forward in anticipation.

"I told you, Tomura, the Nomu is withdrawn from you for another week. After your mistake in losing the arachnid I gifted you, it's a viable punishment.", Shigaraki's Sensei scolded the villain.

"But Sensei, it's been months!", Tomura began to complain and scratch at the itching desire to wring a neck.

"Then it should be no difficulty waiting one more week. My decision is indisputable."

Tomura flinched at the stern tone his Sensei was using. Kurogiri nearly dropped the glass he was cleaning.

"Focus solely on recruiting more members. Keep me informed on the progress. Bare in mind, our declaration of war is going to be made extremely soon."

"Yes, Sensei.", Tomura & Kurogiri bowed to the screen.

During that week, they obeyed their master's order. Word traveled fast that Shigaraki is forming a league of villains. Criminals and maniacs alike came from far and wide to join the army.

Meanwhile, Izuku filed for a few more hero schools and increased his training regime due to consistent failure. However, it took that certain amount of time for U.A's letters of acknowledgment to come in the mail. Katsuki and Izuku took their notes to their shared bedroom to open them.

"I guess we should get mine out of the way..", Izuku mumbled before tearing it open.

Shocking both the teens, a circular device fell out instead of paper. Instantly, some sort of mammal & human hybrid appeared out of it.

"Aaahh, a bear has appeared in front of you via hologram! Or am I a mouse?! All you need to know, is that I'm the principal of U.A!", the white creature gave a peppy introduction.

"The principal..", Izuku and Katsuki shared a confused glance.

"As you may already know, you managed to destroy a one pointer during your physical portion. While that one digit score may have been too low for you to pass, I have some good news, there was a secret point system as well that you managed to gain from!"

"WHHHAAATT?!", both boys exclaim in shock.

"That's right! When you destroyed the zero pointer, you also saved a fellow test taker! Due to your inner heroism, you scored sixty rescue points! Combining that with the other point you scored, you managed to pass!"

"I.. I PASSED?!", Izuku felt tears brimming on the corners of his eyes.

"I can't fucking believe it..", Katsuki somehow remained stoic.

"You would have received more points too, if it weren't for our rules and regulations.", the furry rodent adds.

"Huh?", Izuku verbally wondered what the principal could possibly mean.

Suddenly, the hologram shifted from the animal hybrid to a familiar brunette. She was standing in front of Present Mic, Izuku assumed she spoke to him after the exam for some reason.

"Excuse me, sir, I was wondering if I could share some of my points with a friend? He saved me during the test and I feel like it may be my fault that he didn't get as many as he could've."

"Uraraka..", Izuku made a mental note to thank her the next time they saw one another.

"Aww, that's really thoughtful, little listener! But don't you worry, your buddy will be just fine!", Present Mic patted her on the head before flashing a thumbs up.

The hologram than shifted back to the principal primate. "It warmed my heart that you were capable of inspiring somebody!"

Izuku nods in agreement while wiping away tears. Katsuki scoffs at his friend's affectionate display.

"Last, but not least, you showed an impressive level of intellect when scoring highly on our written portion!"

No matter how hard the spider powered boy tried to hold them back, he couldn't resist the waterworks after what the principal said next.

"Izuku Midoriya.. WELCOME.. TO YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!"


	8. Welcome To Class 1-A

"We got pretty lucky being paired in the same classroom together.", Izuku spoke absentmindedly as he skimmed the welcoming brochure. Both boys received instructions upon being accepted into the academy, and thus set out to find their homeroom when the date of admission arrived.

"Or maybe U.A did it on purpose. They probably know we live together and shared the same shitty school beforehand.", Katsuki pointed out.

"I never thought of it that way.. You're probably right.", Izuku agreed with the other boy's reasoning.

"Where the fuck is this classroom?!", miniature explosions began to pop in the blonde's palms as he lost patience. The two teens had been wandering the halls for what felt like an hour. Both boys refused to ask for directions, one was too prideful and the other too shy. The duo was destined to explore the entire building before they found the homeroom.

"I- It IS a pretty big place.. At least we know where the lunchroom and teacher's lounge are..", Izuku's attempt at being optimistic failed when he added an nervous chuckle.

"This is why I told your stupid ass that we needed to fucking leave EARLY!", Katsuki blamed the more soft spoken boy.

"S- Sorry! I didn't think we'd get l- lost!", Izuku frantically waved his arms apologetically.

"I don't need your shitty excuses, Deku! Just fucking fix it!"

The green haired teen began to sputter and twist in search of a route they hadn't taken already. "Th- This way!"

The two hastily walked the unfamiliar hallway and for once, Midoriya was lucky, they found the labeled classrooms. At the front of them, was 1-A, the one they partake in. Izuku let himself breathe a sigh of relief.

That momentarily break didn't last long though, Katsuki grabs the freckled boy by the collar and drags him into the classroom. "Come on, we aren't gonna stand in the fucking hallway when we've finally found the shitty room."

To make matters worse and more humiliating for Izuku, the two walk right into the guy that called him out during the Entrance Exam. He gasps when watching Katsuki drag the other boy forcefully. "Unhand him! That sort of roughhousing is unbecoming a hero!"

"Out of my fucking way, extra! OR I'LL BLOW YOU TO BITS!", Katsuki uses his free hand to spark a few explosions. The intimidation tactic works, frightening the teen in glasses.

"Blow me to bits?! You're truly awful!", the flimsy insult doesn't affect Bakugo one bit.

During the confrontation, Izuku continuously squirmed in his friend's grip. As the situation escalated and Katsuki threatened a classmate, he finally managed to break loose. With a burst of strength, the freckled boy leaps out of grabbing distance and sticks to the ceiling.

Some of the other classmates who arrived beforehand exclaimed in awe or surprise. The only ones that look unphased by the action was a boy with mismatched hair and Katsuki.

"Enough arguing! We're all here to learn and train to help others, so let's try to get along!", Izuku shouted from his spot on the roof.

Katsuki looked like he was prepared to retaliate or even attack, but simply huffed before stomping over to an empty seat. A boy with red hair and pointed teeth looked contemplative of starting a conversation or changing chairs. In the end, it looked like he decided to introduce himself to the still steaming blonde.

While the living grenade was occupied, Izuku found himself alone with the boy in glasses. While the blue haired teen showed hostility in a verbal manner, he didn't look like he'd try anything physical. Izuku decided it was safe to drop down from his safe spot on the ceiling and address the awkward situation.

"S- Sorry about Kacchan, he can be really e- 'expressive' sometimes.."

"I see..", the taller teen adjusted his glasses as he considered the blonde's rude personality trait. "Since you don't seem bothered by the way he was handling you, I won't press it any farther."

"Th- Thank you."

The teen then formally holds out his hand for Izuku to shake. "My name is Tenya Iida. I'm from Somei Private Academy."

"P- Pleased to meet you, Iida! I'm D- .. I'm Izuku Midoriya.", Izuku returns the greeting despite a little slip up with his name.

"Midoriya, you perceived the true nature of the practical exam when I did not. I misjudged you and would like to apologize for my behavior in the auditorium. I hate to admit it, but you were the superior candidate!"

Izuku is about to deny the claim that he saw through the hidden point system, but is interrupted by the arrival of another student. This one is familiar as well, the brunette he sat with in the auditorium and saved from the zero pointer.

"Hey, I recognize that curly hair! You got in just like Present Mic said you would! It makes sense though, that punch was awesome, thanks again for saving me Deku!"

Izuku covers his face to hide the tomato red blush that's formed. "N- No! I mean, th- thank YOU for speaking on my behalf! I.. well.."

Ochaco cocks her head a little at that response, "Huh? How did you know about that?"

Before Izuku can explain the holographic message to her, the last person through the door interrupts him. However, instead of being a teenager like the others, this fellow looks like a hobo that came from off the streets. The man has scruff around his chin and hair that goes past his shoulders. The sleep deprived stranger clears his throat to gather everybody's attention.

"If you're here to socialize, then get out. I was the last one in here, and you were still unprepared. Time is a precious resource. You aren't a very rational bunch, are you?"

"This must be our teacher..", Izuku mutters to himself in realization. Although, it felt hard to believe the haggard looking man could be a pro hero. After all, Izuku is a renowned hero fanboy and doesn't recognize this particular one.

"I'm Shota Aizawa, your homeroom instructor. Now that the introduction is out of the way, I want you all to hurry and change into your gym clothes. Meet me out on the grounds in five minutes."

Everyone is even more baffled by their teacher when he zips himself up in a yellow sleeping bag. Things were very straight-to-the-point apparently, but the class was eager enough to head straight for the locker rooms to get changed. Luckily, Izuku and Katsuki had their classmates to follow as escorts this time.

While most of the other boys kept to themselves, Izuku ended up being approached by a familiar face from the physical portion of the Entrance Exam. "Bonjour once more! It seems we ended up seeing one another again after all! I must say, you truly _sparkled_ with your quirk in the classroom!"

"Uhh, thanks..", Izuku eyes nervously darted around in search for a way to escape the conversation.

"Get outta here, frenchie fucker!", Bakugo to the rescue. Katsuki shoved the fellow blonde away to occupy the same bench as Izuku. Changing together wouldn't be as awkward since the two became acquainted to it while sharing the same bedroom.

After donning blue uniforms with a white 'U.A' insignia, the duo was approached by the red headed classmate. "Yo, Bakubro, when were you planning to introduce me to your friend?"

"Bakubro..?", Izuku raised an eyebrow.

Katsuki growled in annoyance. "Don't call me that, shitty hair!"

"Okay, jeez, sorry!", the redhead performed a calming gesture with his hands that didn't match his toothy grin.

"I- I'm Izuku Midoriya.", the freckled boy intervened before Katsuki could ruin a potential friendship.

"Eijiro Kirishima!", the redhead thrust a thumb at himself. "We should probably get going now, but I wanted to introduce myself to everyone first."

Izuku nods in understanding, "That's a good idea. It was nice talking, Kirishima."

"I feel the same way, Midoriya! I'll see ya out there!", the redhead then jogs off.

Izuku slips on his red sneakers before turning to face Katsuki. "Ready, Kacchan?"

"I've been waiting on YOU, jackass!"

Izuku yelps at the sudden outburst, but quickly recovers so he follow the blonde out. "O- Oh! Sorry!"

While they weren't the last students to arrive, they certainly cut it close. What looks like an invisible girl and a guy with a raven's head follow behind minutes later. When the whole class is present, the teacher seems to appear out of nowhere. A majority of the students tremble when watching their instructor etch his way towards them in his sleeping bag like a mutated caterpillar.

"Alright. Today, I'll be conducting an array of tests to get an overview of your quirks."

Izuku is surprised to see Ochaco move forward with her arm up to be called on. The teacher gives her a nod of approval so she can speak. "What about the entrance ceremony? Or guidance sessions?"

The humanoid caterpillar pulls out a juicebox to sip on before answering her question. "There's no time to waste on that stuff if you want to become a hero."

A tall girl with her hair tied in a ponytail nodded in approval with their teacher's statement.

"Softball throwing, the standing long jump, the fifty meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, side to side stepping, upper body training, and the seated toe touch. You did all of these in middle school, yes? They are your standard no-quirks-allowed gym tests."

The teacher unzips his sleeping bag to groggily wake up as he continues to speak.

"This country still insists on prohibiting quirks when calculating the averages of those records. It's not rational. The department of education is just procrastinating."

The instructor then makes his way to a bag full of softballs before tossing one for Katsuki to catch.

"Bakugo. How far could you throw in middle school?"

"Sixty seven meters.", Katsuki says it loud enough for the entire class to hear. Even now, the blonde was extremely prideful and used to basking in compliments. He frowned when nobody applauded him for what he thought to be an impressive throwing distance.

"Try it with your quirk. Do whatever you need to. Just don't leave the circle.", Aizawa gestured to a chalked oval for his student to stand in.

A cocky grin replaces the boy's scowl as he steps into the ring. "Give it all you've got.", the teacher idly sips on his juicebox as Katsuki winds up the pitch.

"DIE!", Bakugo adds a literal boom to his throw and the ball goes rocketing into the sky. A huge updraft mixes with smoke from the explosion and takes most of the students by surprise.

"Really, Kacchan? 'Die'..?", Izuku can't help but facepalm.

A handheld monitor beeps as it records Bakugo's pitch. Aizawa turns the screen towards the class so they can read it.

 **705.2m**

"It's important for us to know our limits. That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be."

The amazing throw by Katsuki managed to hype the class up now. Most of them began murmuring to each other about how pumped they are.

"We get to use our quirks for real?! Man, the hero course is great!", Kirishima joined in on the uprising commotion.

"Yeah, this looks like it could actually be fun!", a pink skinned girl with horns chimed in.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Even without his heightened senses, he would have noticed their sensei's eye twitch with some kind of pent up emotion.

"Fun..you say?"

The class quickly quieted down when they noticed how tilted Aizawa's head looked. The looming presence was that of something straight out of a horror film. A majority of the class shuddered and received goosebumps.

"You're hoping to become heroes after three years here.. Do you honestly think it'll always be fun and games? That just isn't logical. Looks like I need to give you a sample of the real world.."

If the students weren't nervous already, they were certainly quaking in their shoes now.

"The one with the lowest score across all eight events will be considered hopeless.. and thus, will be **expelled**."

Izuku gave Katsuki a panicked look, but the blonde didn't seem to notice. Bakugo still had a plastered grin, he seemed to be enjoying this as much as Aizawa. The freckled boy began to search the crowd for anyone else that may question the sudden proclamation. Iida adjusted his glasses, Ochaco held a fist close to her heart, and everyone else held sheer glares of determination.

Izuku felt like an outcast and his anxiety only increased because of it. Just as he was about to speak up and try to plead for his sensei to reconsider, a boy with purple balls for hair ran forward dramatically. The shorter kid looked like he was crying more than Izuku ever had in his entire life.

"The lowest scorer will be expelled?! It's only the first day! I mean, even if it weren't.. that's totally unfair!", the boy spoke through choked snobs and sniffles.

Aizawa looked the least bit phased by the protest. "Natural disasters, highway pileups, rampaging villains.. Calamity is always right around the corner. I'd say Japan is full of unfair things." With a disgruntled sigh, the teacher continued his reasoning for the drastic measure. "Heroes are the ones who face that unfairness head on. If you were hoping to spend your evenings hanging out at Mcdonalds, I'm sorry to tell you that U.A is going to run you through the wringer for these next three years."

The boy who looked like a crossbred grape began to wipe away his tears and nod in understanding. Izuku began to see it the same way as Aizawa now, and found the determination his classmates portrayed.

"Use your power to overcome it all. THAT'S Plus Ultra. So bring it."

Izuku voluntarily stepped forward while he still had confidence. Aizawa seemed to like the cooperation as he flashed a grin and tossed the next softball to Midoriya.

Izuku tuned out the class watching him as he stepped into the circle. Since the Web-Shooters are a support item, they don't qualify as part of his quirk. Sheer strength would have to do. Izuku struck a pose as he winded up the ball, and then flung his arm forward.

 **705.2m**

"It's a tie with Bakugo!", the pink skinned girl exclaimed.

"Fucking bullshit! Ya just HAD to showoff, eh Deku?!", Katsuki fumed.

"S- Sorry, Kacchan! I didn't m- mean to!"

"Enough bickering. Whoever's next, come on up.", Aizawa groaned.

"I'll go!", Ochaco jumped forward with her bubbly attitude. The brunette lightly waved to Izuku as they passed by.

When Aizawa gave her the next softball, she didn't even bother to wind up a pitch. All it took was placing all five fingers on the object, and its gravity vanished. The device in the teacher's hand beeped rapidly as the number increased until reaching the infinity sign.

"Fucking bullshit, how did SHE score a higher fucking score than ME?!", Katsuki roared.

After that, nobody dared to try and top the nuclear blonde. The ball pitch went by without anymore climatic moments. A lot of the students didn't even try using their quirks.

 **3.04 Seconds**

Though the reading was impressive, Aizawa wasn't very enthusiastic over the race he just witnessed. Tenya Iida had literal engines in his calves that allowed him to run at a limited form of superspeed. "Eh.. like a fish in water. We'll see how he does in the other events."

Katsuki showed a high level of ingenuity by propelling himself forward with controlled bursts to win in his race against a classmate who's quirk granted him a tail.

As for Izuku, he was placed against the boy with mismatched hair. When they got in close range of each other, Izuku noticed a severe burn covering one eye. Sympathy for the stranger made him want to ask about it, but he knew better than to ask such a personal question. However, the scorched flesh raised questions about the teen's quirk. Izuku considered the boy having a fire related power, it would par up with why half his hair is red. However, it also raised the question why the other half was white as snow.

Izuku was so consumed in his trance of trying to figure out his opponent's quirk, that he never noticed Aizawa started the race. While the half & half teen had been thrown off by Izuku's tangent of muttering to himself, he quickly recovered and activated his quirk. Izuku's question was answered when the boy glided on a pathway of ice.

Suddenly snapped out of his daydreaming, Izuku kicked into high gear and sprinted after his classmate. As he gave chase, Izuku felt power surge through his legs as they moved faster & faster. An enhanced version of speed was then added to the checklist of abilities that Midoriya's quirk granted.

The racers were right beside one another as they crossed the finish line. Once again, Izuku tied with somebody. As Midoriya tried to catch his breath from the sprint, he gave his competitor a thumbs up. "You were a tough opponent!"

The boy looked dissatisfied with the praise though, "I didn't win.. You hesitated and got a late start, but still managed to catch up.."

Before Izuku could reply, the mismatched teen walked away. Iida placed a hand on the freckled boy's shoulder in a consoling manner. "Don't become disheartened by your classmate's response. You showed good sportsmanship, Midoriya!"

Despite Tenya's advice, Izuku tried finding the icy teen. Somehow, the half & half boy vanished for the remaining races. By the time the next event arrived, Izuku had forgotten what he had even wanted to say and dropped it.

Izuku gave it his all on the grip strength test, actually managing to crush the device in his grasp. Not even a boy who's quirk was to literally become a hulking goliath from consuming sugar could manage to match that amount of strength. However, a student with multiplex arms and a mask hiding his mouth did cause it to malfunction.

Izuku was placed with the blonde that speaks french when it came to the standing long jump portion. Surprisingly, he managed to beat Midoriya by propelling himself with a navel laser.

"While you were able to _shine_ in the other events, it is the turn of moi to _SPARKLE_! You shall remember the name: Yuga Aoyama!"

Izuku could only laugh nervously and nod, interacting with the boy was always awkward for some reason.

Next, was the seated toe touch. While all the girls had natural flexibility, a majority of the boys were having difficulty. Only Aoyama and Midoriya managed to perform like the females. Yuga prattled on about shining again, much to Izuku's dismay.

"This lame yoga shit doesn't fucking matter anyway!", Katsuki ended up rage quitting.

When it came to upper body training, everyone showed amazing fitness except for the grape headed boy. Pull Ups and Chin Ups alike concluded that portion.

Last, but not least, was the side to side stepping. While this should have probably been the most straight forward and boring test, it ended up being the most eventful.

Katsuki had been paired up with the short kid with purple balls for hair.

It just so happened, the runt was very capable of performing this particular task. Even when using dispelled explosions, Bakugo couldn't keep up with the rate of his opponent. The blonde had always been compared to a time bomb, and he finally went off when the results showed that he had lost.

"NO FUCKING WAY THAT I'M LOSING TO THIS GRAPE FUCKER!"

Not even Izuku could stop Katsuki from pouncing like a cat attacking a mouse. This is where Aizawa had to step in and restrain Bakugo with a specialized capture cloth. When struggling to break free with brute force didn't work, Katsuki attempted to spark more explosions. Much to his and the entire class's surprise, his quirk didn't work.

Izuku instantly pieced together the evidence. His teacher's red glowing eyes had the power to erase other people's quirks. Yellow goggles had been hidden within the capture cloth wrapped around the man's neck like a scarf.

"You're Eraserhead! I didn't recognize you at first since you're an underground hero, but your quirk allows you to nullify other people's quirks just by looking at them!", Izuku exclaimed in awe.

"That's right. It also gives me dry eye, so please restrain your friend so I can turn my quirk off."

"O- OH! R- Right! K- Kacchan, come on, calm d- down!", Izuku scrambled to untie the blonde. "We're about to see the overall results and THOSE are what matters most. You KNOW you came in first place there, so just relax!", he had too much experience when it came to soothing Bakugo.

After Aizawa gave himself eyedrops, he activated a device that displayed names & scores in holographic form.

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his name in the top three rankings. As predicted, Katsuki claimed first place. A boy named Shouto Todoroki came in second, and that made Izuku geek out over the fact that a relative of the Number Two ranked pro hero is in his class. The third slot held the name of Midoriya and fourth belonged to a girl named Momo Yaoyorozu. Izuku was also happy to see Uraraka achieve the sixth position just above Iida.

As for the person who fell into last place, that title belonged to Minoru Mineta. Izuku figured out who that was when the grape headed boy began whaling like an infant. Only a few people looked sympathetic for him, but Shota Aizawa wasn't one of them.

"Looks like you aren't cut out for the heroics course, Mineta. While I threatened expulsion, I'm willing to cut you some slack and move you the general education class. You showed a considerable amount of potential and it wouldn't be logical to turn you away completely."

Izuku was reminded of his quirkless self when watching the boy hang his head lowly. His teachers were no better than his classmates, they all deemed him hopeless. Izuku felt compelled to say something, after all, that's what a real hero would do.

Kneeling down to Minoru's height, Izuku solemnly shared the same wisdom his mother gave him.

"People might look down on you and set you back.. so much so that you begin to believe the only person that believes in you is YOU. Remember that's not the case. You can be a hero. You were gifted a quirk that's powerful no matter what anybody says."

Aizawa began to listen intently as Izuku began to choke up during his speech.

Katsuki felt a twinge of guilt from his younger years, he had been one of the bullies that shunned Izuku.

A floating gym uniform raised its arms to its chest. The girl with a ponytail couldn't prevent her mouth from gaping in awe at the boy's words. A frog type lass put a finger to her lip in consideration. The girl with earphone jacks couldn't prevent them from getting tangled up. Ochaco clenched a fist close to her chest once again, fired up by the speech.

Kirishima had to wipe a tear from his cheek over how manly this whole thing is.

"With great power, there also comes great-"

"Bitches?"

Annnd Mineta ruined the moment.

"What? NO!"

Aizawa dragged a hand down his face over the exchange between a broccoli and grape. "Alright, that's enough. Run along before I change my mind about placing you in the Gen Eds Course, Mineta."

"Y- Yes sir!", Minoru scurried away. When the grape child left, he ended up passing a strange skinny blonde that witnessed the whole thing. The man smiled upon seeing Midoriya's act of kindness.

"Anyways, we're done were. Your documents about the curriculum and such are back at the classroom. Give them a look.", Aizawa began to zip himself back up in his portable sleeping bag. The odd man truly did look an overgrown caterpillar etching its way back into the school.

As their homeroom teacher said, the students found guides on their desks with the listed hours for certain classes & lunch. After the morning period, everybody had an English Literature class with Present Mic. Such an ordinary subject with such a rambunctious teacher felt really underwhelming in comparison to the Quirk Apprehension Tests.

Luckily, everybody could ease into the sudden shift with their next period, which so happened to just be lunch time. The next generation of heroes were served only top notch food by the cook hero called Lunch Rush!

Katsuki slammed his tray of spicy curry on an open table. "This is OUR eating spot now, Deku!", the blonde brashly claimed the unoccupied space. Izuku meekly laughed along and sat down with his childhood friend.

"Oh, cool, you got our own table! It's just like the movies!", Uraraka arrived with white rice and sat next to a blushing Izuku. Katsuki looked livid that the girl dared to join them for lunch.

Before Bakugo could yell at her to leave though, Kirishima also took a seat with the slowly forming group. "Mind if I eat here with you?", the redhead had his patented shark tooth grin.

For whatever reason, Katsuki didn't object to the second newcomer. Kacchan wasn't the type to give up so easily, so Izuku couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in suspicion. However, the blonde shot him a glare that dared his adoptive brother to ask about it and possibly die. Izuku backed up off while Katsuki aggressively gnashed on his curry.

"What you said on the testing grounds was incredibly manly, Midoriya!", Kirishima pointed at Izuku with his spoon before using it to scoop a bite of soup.

"Yeah, it was so inspirational!", Ochaco agreed with a rapid nod of her head.

Once again, the freckled boy was reduced to a stammering mess. "Aahh, i- it was n- nothing, r- really!"

"Oi, what made you think of saying all that shit anyway?", Katsuki spoke through a mouth full of food.

It looked like bashfully rubbing the back of his neck was starting to become a habit. "Well.. Only YOU happen to know, Kacchan.. I was quirkless for a majority of my childhood."

Kirishima and Uraraka collectively gasp at the newfound information.

"What do you mean? The way you demolished that zero pointer during the Entrance Exam.. there's no way you don't have a quirk!", Ochaco leaned towards the blushing boy who reeled back in response.

"You destroyed that giant robot from the test to get in?! SO MANLY!", Kirishima exclaimed in even more awe.

"W- Well, like I said, it was only for a MAJORITY of my life. I ended up developing my quirk a little later than others..", Izuku explained. There was a lot of tension put on his shoulders with Ochaco leaning so close to him.

"Oh, so you're a late bloomer then?", Uraraka finally gave the boy some space.

"Y- Yeah, something like that!", Izuku laughed nervously.

"You know I hate to fucking wait, Deku! Get to the fucking point!", Katsuki growled.

"R- Right! A- Anyways.. Because I was quirkless for so long, a lot of people used to look down on me.. They all told me I couldn't be a hero. I felt alone.. I didn't want Mineta to feel the same way."

Katsuki couldn't bare to look at Izuku, knowing full well he played a part in that cruel feeling. After digesting that information along with his food, the blonde couldn't stand to occupy the same space as the green haired kid any longer. "I've gotta use the restroom..", Bakugo hastily stormed off.

"K- Kacchan, wait-", Izuku tried to call after his friend but Kirishima held up a hand to stop him.

"It's alright, Midoriya, I'll go after him.", the redhead sounded like he understood the situation. Izuku gave an appreciative nod and Eijiro ran after Katsuki.

It was then that Izuku realized he had been left alone with a girl.

 **has stopped responding.**


	9. It's Only Day Two & We're Fighting!

The second day of hero school somehow topped the first one. All it took was the symbol of peace stepping through the classroom's door.

"I AM HERE – Coming through the door like a normal person!"

The muscular blonde flashed the class his signature smile. It looks like the hero also donned his Silver Age costume, no doubt to impress the class. The man was practically an overgrown child. That didn't stop the teenagers from idolizing him though.

"It's really All Might, he's gonna teach us, that's so awesome!"

"He's even manlier in person!"

"So cool!"

The hulking hero bellowed in laughter before snatching a piece of chalk to write on the board behind him. Yet another surprise fell upon the class when they read what was written.

 **BATTLE TRAINING!**

"Basic hero training! This is the class that'll put you through all sorts of special training to mold you into perfect heroes! No time to dally! Today's activity is HERE!"

Katsuki leaned forward in his seat with an eager toothy grin. "Battle!", his mind was focused on that one word and it filled with him anticipation.

"T- Training..", Izuku began to realize he would have to potentially fight people. While he had experience from the wrestling match and sludge villain so long ago, he felt that was entirely different circumstances. Those people he fought were adversaries, not fellow classmates or teachers!

"And for that.. You need THESE!"

All Might whipped out a remote that was concealed behind his cape. With a click, the wall began to whir and cases that resembled lockers began to shift out.

"In accordance with the 'Quirk Registry' and the special request forms you filled out before being admitted, you are now receiving-"

"COSTUMES!", the class was in sync as they erupted with excitement.

All Might let out another hearty laugh, fully relishing in the class's enthusiasm. "After you change, come out to meet me at Ground Beta!"

Designing and requesting particular things for a costume was part of the applications that U.A required you to submit. This was never an issue for any of the students, as most children design & draw hundreds of costume renditions throughout their youth.

Izuku had submitted an outfit compiling all of his original versions, along with a new style that catered to his quirk. The color scheme was based off of All Might's, a red a blue mix that inspired hope. Izuku also implemented a subtle webbing design with two not-so-subtle spider emblems on his back & chest. While he kept the webbing fluid formula a secret, U.A began providing the proper ingredients. Izuku also received Web-Shooters that weren't created out of garbage scrap. What stood out and mattered most though, was the white blotches on his mask. The idea was drawn on one of his past renditions, back when his mother was alive. Inko loved the design and Izuku added it to this one as a memorium of sorts.

As for the costumes his classmate's wore, there was a mix between flashy and casual clothing.

Of course, Aoyama fell into the flashy category with a flamboyant purple cape and knight's chestplate. The pink skinned girl wore a camouflaged leotard, but the bright color scheme basically made it look more ti dye than anything. One person looked like a human shaped tape dispenser.

However, three in particular really stood out to Izuku.

Judging by the lightning pattern and star shaped mask on one student's yellow & green spandex, Izuku assumed he had an electrical emitter quirk.

It took a moment to recognize her with her hair down, but the prior ponytail student stood out by being more 'developed' than the other girls. Izuku was amazed by how she had managed to change her hair color from black to a silver hue. The new hair style matched her outfit that showed more bust than it probably should.

Last, but not least, Izuku instantly recognized the mysterious half & half boy. It wasn't hard, considering half of the guy's body was encased in ice.

As for the more practical and casual wearers, Izuku spotted more of them than the full out comic suit gimmick. The student with a tail wore a simple karategi, which brought up the question if he knew martial arts. The invisible girl only wore gloves & boots while the bird headed teen concealed his body with a cloak. The girl with earphone jacks looked like a punk rocker and could probably pass her outfit off as a civilian's clothes.

During his analysis of the other students, Izuku was approached by a familiar brunette. She looked like a pink space explorer, but consistently pulled and prodded at her suit.

"Deku, is that you? Cool costume! I wish I'd been more specific on my request form, mine ended up being so tight. It's embarrassing.."

Suddenly, Izuku became self aware of his own spandex, it really showed off how ripped his muscles are. Uraraka wasn't the only one showing off her curvaceous figure involuntarily. He yelped and his white lens expanded, it had been too much all at once.

"Y- Yeah.. mine too..", Izuku fidgeted in place uncomfortably. He was fortunate enough that his mask could cover his massive blush, but Uraraka wasn't so lucky. The brunette's pink cheeks blended with her uniform as she checked out Izuku's figure.

"H- How did you do that thing with your eyes?!", Ochaco blurted out the first thing that came to mind. She was desperate to change the topic of conversation.

"O- Oh, I put it in my request form. Theoretically, it should help focus my senses, they can be a bit overwhelming with how enhanced they are."

"Oh, wow, that's really cool!", Ochaco couldn't help but compliment the smart development.

Before Izuku had the chance to thank her though, he felt a familiar buzzing sensation in the back of his skull. Before the poor guy could figure out what it meant, he was tackled into a rough hug by Kirishima.

"Holy crap, Midoriya! I woulda never thought you'd be this shredded! You're SO manly!", the redhead praised the fellow teen. Much like Izuku, Eijiro showed off his muscular complexion, but in a much less subtle manner. Kirishima had his bare chest showing, but the abs were nothing compared to Izuku's.

"Please, refrain from any rough housing until we're actually sparring!", what looked like something ripped straight out of Mobile Suit Gundam made chopping motions with their hands. Izuku immediately put two & two together to figure out this person is Iida. Tenya was now a literal white knight.

Suddenly, the whole class is silenced by the arrival of All Might landing in a heroic pose. The hero gives a boasting guffaw before addressing his students.

"It looks like you're all here! Looking good!", the symbol of peace gives a thumbs up to the group. "Now, my young wards, let's begin! It's time for Indoor Anti-Personnel Battle Training!"

"Indoors?", the frog girl raises a curious finger to her chin with a soft ribbit.

"Villain battles are most commonly seen outdoors, but.. statistically speaking, the most heinous villains are more likely to appear indoors.", All Might briefly explains the reasoning behind his training exercise.

Just one glance at the class, and anybody could see they weren't entirely sold by the hero's clarification.

"For example, there's confinement house arrest and black market deals!", All Might clears his throat while trying to think of a way to simplify it further. "The more clever villains out there often lurk indoors."

Before the class could question the legitimately of these statistics, All Might took a page out of Present Mic's book and hastily moved on to the next topic.

"You'll now be split into _villain teams_ and **hero teams**! You will face off in two-on-two indoor battles!"

"So, no basic training?", the frog girl tilted her head.

All Might wanted to avoid having to explain himself to the amphibian student a second time, so he clenched his fist in front of his face with a rock solid answer. "Practical experience teaches you the basics! The distinction here is that you won't be fighting disposable robots!"

The hero's permanent smile became more genuine when he thought that would be enough to satisfy her question. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared to be bombarded by questions from the other students.

"What determines victory?", the tall girl that turned her black ponytail into long silver locks spoke up.

"Can I just fucking blast these shitty extras new assholes?", Katsuki growled.

"Are you threatening to expel someone like Aizawa-Sensei did?", Uraraka worried.

"How do we proceed to divide ourselves into teams?", Iida wondered.

"How fabulous is my cape?", that last question from Aoyama didn't even have to do with the training.

All Might began sweating profusely and trembled under the stressful barrage of inquires. The hero was overwhelmed by anxiety, it truly felt like he was in an interrogation. Desperate times call for desperate measures, he resorted to whipping out a miniature book that should lend aid.

"Listen up!", All Might flipped through numerous pages in search of tutelage. "Here's the deal. Villains will be hiding a nuclear weapon in the hideout. The heroes have to go in and seize it! The heroes have a limited amount of time to either capture the villains or secure the weapon. The villains must either capture the heroes or protect the weapon until time runs out."

Izuku sweatdropped, "A cheat sheet?", he couldn't believe All Might would resort to such a method.

"Your battle partners will be decided by drawing lots!", the pro hero then whipped out a box full of paper slips that must have also been concealed behind his cape.

"Is that really the best way?!", Iida was skeptical.

"Actually, it makes sense. Pros often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot during emergencies. You never know who could be your partner in such a crisis.", Izuku helped give All Might an explanation this time around. The boy could see his idol was having a difficult time coming up with answers to all these questions.

"Ah, I see! I apologize for getting ahead of myself! My mistake!", Iida repeatedly bowed in apology.

All Might did a victory pump now that the students were out of questions. "It's fine! Let's just get to it!", but he added the finality statement just in case.

That didn't stop the invisible girl from speaking up though, "Sensei!"

"Ah, shit.. what now?", All Might muttered under his breath in worry.

"Aizawa-Sensei expelled a boy named Mineta. We're one classmate short. Won't a team be missing a partner?", she asked.

"Oh.. Um..", the hero frantically flipped through his handbook in search for a solution to this problem. Upon finding nothing written how to handle such a dilemma, the hero slapped it shut and faced his students with beads of sweat appearing once more. "I guess one of you will have to sacrifice a teammate! Any volunteers?"

Izuku looked among his classmates, finding that most of them were unwilling to have such a disadvantage. Just as the boy with ice covering half his body was about to step forward, Izuku held up his hand. "I guess if nobody else wants to work alone, th- then I'll do it.."

All Might's plastered smile increased in size upon seeing the boy's selflessness.

"So manly, Midoriya!", Kirishima shared a similar toothy grin.

"Deku..", Uraraka looked contemplative.

"Now that we've resolved that problem..! Let us begin drawing lots!", the hero spoke while pulling out the first set of paper slips.

Katsuki Bakugo had been partnered with Kyoka Jirou, which they discovered is the earphone jack girl's name.

Then Shouto Todoroki got paired with Mezo Shoji. Izuku was shocked to discover the boy with an ice quirk is the son of Endeavor, a flame powered hero. While the mystery of identity had been solved, a new one arose.

Ochaco Uraraka got partnered up with Tenya Iida. The two gave one another nods of acknowledgment.

Momo Yaoyorozu was paired with Denki Kaminari. This duo was the electrical themed student and ponytail turned straight silver girl.

Mina Ashido (pink skinned girl) was placed with Yuga Aoyama (the blonde frenchman). Mashirao Ojiro (tail boy) got paired with Toru Hagakure (invisible girl). Eijiro Kirishima had been partnered with Hanta Sero (tape dispenser). Fumikage Tokoyami (bird head) was paired with Tsuyu Asui (frog girl). Two unnaturally big kids named Koji Koda and Rikido Sato were the last to form a team.

"Moving on, you will now be classified as heroes or villains!", All Might somehow managed to pull out two more labeled boxes. Instead of paper slips though, he had balls with assigned groups on them.

Todoroki and Shoji were assigned as heroes while Hagakure & Ojiro set up as villains.

"We'll observe each mach battle from a viewing room. Each team will be revealed as we progress.", All Might announces. The students nod in content and follow him to a place filled with monitors. The feed is connected to all sorts of video cameras to capture the battle and give a full overview.

Inside the villain hideout, Ojiro knocks on the false nuclear weapon they must protect. He's surprised to find that it's completely delicate and light as a feather. "Paper mache', huh?"

"I'm going all out, Ojiro, the gloves and boots are coming off!", Hagakure begins discarding the minimal articles of clothing. Without anything covering her body, the girl becomes completely invisible.

"Uh, sure.. I guess that makes sense since it has to do with your quirk..", the boy sweats nervously. "But she's a girl. Damn. This feels unethical..", his tail curls in on itself as he mumbles to himself.

On the outside, the heroes are also developing a strategy. Shoji duplicates more than just his arms, it looks like ears and a mouth. The freaky display makes some of the viewers shudder while others watch in anticipation. The ears apparently have a purpose as they stretch and pick up noise through walls.

"We've got one of the north side of the fourth floor. The other is somewhere on the same floor.. barefoot.. the invisible one must be planning to ambush and capture us.", Shoji turns to address his teammate.

"Our opponents think they're playing a defensive game.. but that means nothing to me.", Todoroki seems unbothered by the information his partner shared. He simply crouches down and places a hand on the floor beneath them. "Stand back. It's about to get frosty in here."

Then, in an instant, the entire villain base was shrouded with ice. Hagakure and Ojiro were frozen in place, and thus captured by default.

"Without harming his ally or the nuclear weapon, he immobilized the enemy!", All Might spoke through chattering teeth as he shivered in the cool breeze. "Hero team wins!"

With the announcement of his success, Todoroki began to melt the ice away. "Sorry about that.", the soft spoken teen apologized while warming up the losing team.

The class was blown away by the sheer power displayed by their classmate. Not only did he eliminate his opponents in one fatal swoop of ice.. but he can generate heat too. Todoroki's quirk felt like a double edged sword.

The next matchup was Uraraka & Iida as heroes versus Kirishima and Sero as the villains. While Eijiro was his friend too, Izuku couldn't help but quietly root for Uraraka. Much like the last battle trial he observed, the boy began scribbling details in his notebook.

Ochaco used her quirk to float her and Tenya to a higher level and they began to infiltrate the facility. It was then that their next step really mattered. Kirishima went to face them while Sero guarded the nuclear weapon. If the hero team stuck together, they could beat the separated villains.

However, Iida ended up stalling Kirishima while Uraraka went for the objective. Tenya used the engines in his legs to strike his enemy with powerful kicks. Eijiro portrayed an impressive hardening quirk that could withstand strong attacks and tanked the battle. Luckily for Iida, his suit was practically armor and equally shielded him from heavy blows.

Ochaco eventually found the room the villain's hid the nuclear weapon in. Izuku knew she would be at a disadvantage though, since Iida advised Sero to remove all other items so she wouldn't be capable of making anything float. Hanta's quirk proved to be a ranged type, and he easily wrapped Uraraka in tape.

It was then only a matter of time before Kirishima overwhelmed Iida.

The next team had learned from the prior's mistake. Yaoyorozu and Kaminari stayed together to guard the nuclear weapon. Ashido & Aoyama were taken out by a single move from Denki, much like Shouto had done. Kaminari released a high output of electricity while Yaoyorozu covered herself with a specialized blanket to shield herself. Denki was sent to Recovery Girl afterwards, he apparently short circuits when releasing too much power.

The next battle trial had Koda & Sato as the hero team facing Tokoyami & Asui as the villains. The unnaturally large boys had matching yellow body suits that made it hard for them to infiltrate the building in a stealthy manner. As for Tokoyami though, he blended in with the darkness and summoned a creature that must be his quirk to wipe the floor with the hero team. Without consuming any sugar, Sato went down easily. Koda simply held up his hands in surrender.

Aside from the first match, the hero team kept a losing streak while the villains consistently won. It only made Izuku Midoriya even more anxious about his match when he got placed on the hero side. To make matters worse, one of his opponents is Katsuki Bakugo. As for the blonde's partner, she hasn't shown what her earphone jacks are capable of yet, so she's a wild card.

"Good luck, Deku!", Uraraka flashed her friend a thumbs up.

"Heh. Thanks Uraraka.. I think I need it..", the boy trembled slightly just thinking about fighting Katsuki.

"Just like all the other times, the villain team goes in first! The timer starts in five minutes, when the hero team sneaks in! The rest of us will watch this final match via CCTV and then break for lunch!", All Might exclaimed enthusiastically before whipping out a bento box.

Izuku began to get himself into the proper mindset for his battle trial. The blueprint All Might gave him wouldn't matter much, Katsuki was smart enough to move the nuclear weapon to a different location. The spiderling would have to rely on his senses to locate the objective and enemy team. Just like when tracking down the sludge villain, mild tingling and buzzing will alert him to danger nearby.

Starting things off quickly, Izuku began to scale the outside of the villain base, adopting the true agility of a spider. When the hero in training finishes scrambling up the wall, he gently opens a window to climb inside. Izuku narrows his eyes, the white lens focusing as he does so. Minding one's surroundings is very important, Izuku learned to do so after using his environment to beat the sludge villain with a fire hydrant.

"Lots of blind corners, I really need to watch out. They could come from anywhere..", Izuku cautiously crawled along the ceiling of what felt like a maze. The labyrinth made things very disconcerting and even with his third sense, could allow the villains to perform an ambush.

Eventually, Izuku found a clearing in the shape of an octagon. Numerous tunnels parted in every direction, making the particular spot a dangerous one. For Izuku though, this was the perfect place to scout ahead.

Class 1-A and All Might watched with curiosity as the boy began to weave a massive web. The articulate craftsmanship strung strings down every corridor and it all connected to a giant network. The boy spun and turned with each binding of webbing, until finishing with a crouched pose at the center, his arm cocked back with the other forward.

"What is Midoriya doing? How is that web gonna help him?", Kirishima wondered.

Though he would never admit it, All Might wanted to ask the same question.

Luckily, Yaoyorozu seemed to have the answer. "It seems although Midoriya has the abilities of an arachnid. Most acarine weave their webs with the intent to capture prey in them. In order to do so, specific web strands are connected to certain ends to receive vibrations and locate their target."

"I see! This way, he'll be able to tell from which direction his enemy will come. Midoriya's strategy is an effective one.", Iida rubbed his chin as if he were stroking a beard of wisdom.

"Yeah, Deku's really smart!", Uraraka agreed.

It was a good thing that the class couldn't hear him though, cause Izuku was in a full on panic mode.

"Kacchan is definitely going to have it out for me. We didn't talk much after his incident at lunch yesterday and Kacchan will no doubt see this match as a way to settle things. Taking HIM on will be difficult enough.. I just have to rely on the hope that Jirou will want to stay and protect the objective in case I manage to slip past Kacchan. Even so, a two-one-scenario may become inevitable."

The boy's muttering trance was suddenly broke by one of the web cords vibrating. Izuku whips to face the direction that it came from. Slowly but steadily, he creeps along the strand in order to find the source. Such an eerie moment feels like a horror scene as he nears the string's end.

"FUCKING DEKU!", Katsuki flies around a corner and sends Izuku's spider-senses into overdrive.

The blonde propels himself forward with controlled bursts, preparing to strike at his opponent.

Izuku doesn't need to rely on his spider-senses to read his enemy's moves. He catches the other boy's arm and flips him over his shoulder. When Izuku was quirkless and his mother was still alive, she had placed him martial arts classes to help him chase his dream. The move to counter a punch stuck with Izuku ever since.

With a gust of wind thrown out of him, Katsuki lands on his back in the web trap. The blonde was stuck to it just like a fly.

"Kacchan.. You always lead with that right hook. I've seen it enough to know!", Izuku declares.

Katsuki grits his teeth in anger, struggling to rip himself free from the webbing. That statement was just another reminder of all the times he had bullied his childhood friend when they were younger.

Watching Bakugo fail to escape the web trap, All Might turns on his comm link to the teams. "Due to his incapability to free himself, Ba-"

Before he can be disqualified, Katsuki lets loose a primal roar and fires off a few explosions from his palms. The webbing burns away and tears apart as he reasserts himself with steaming rage.

"As if I'd be beaten that easily! Don't you fuckers look down on me! IT PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF!", Katsuki goes on a tirade while secreting more explosions.

After hearing all the commotion through her comms, Jirou activates hers. "Hey, Bakugo! Update me on the situation! What's happening?!"

Katsuki brings a hand to his earpiece, "Shut up and keep watch! I'm ready to wreck someone!"

"Jeez man, you need to chill out.", Jirou flinches from how loud her partner is.

"Fuck off!", Katsuki pulls out his micro transceiver and destroys it with another miniature detonation.

That's the end of Bakugo's patience. The blonde hurdles himself at Midoriya, firing off explosions in the process. With admirable reflexes that some of Class 1-A gush over from the surveillance room, Izuku maneuvers around the blasts. One boy ricochets off the walls while the other lets loose his destruction forces.

"Stop fucking dodging, and fight me you piece of shit!", Katsuki seethes in frustration.

"Careful what you wish for, Kacchan!", Izuku then creates a short string of webbing while ducking under a blast so he can wrap it around the blonde's calve. With a strong tug, Midoriya manages to trip Bakugo.

"Damn you!", Katsuki snaps like a vicious animal. He kicks out at Izuku, who manages to catch the first foot, but gets grazed by the second. The two put distance between one another after that, both regaining their bearings.

"His usual right hook!", Izuku reminded himself of what the next attack would be. The swing had a detonation this time, but it was still predictable enough to avoid.

Izuku glances at the charred wall that could've been him. His white lens widen at the realization just how close he had been to getting blown to smithereens. Katsuki was really going all out with his unbridled rage.

The safe move was to try and give his friend time to cool off. So, Izuku fled the fight in a hysterical fashion of somersaults and quick web swings.

"GET BACK HERE, DEKU!"

Izuku didn't dare to look over his shoulder as he continued leaping wall to wall. Katsuki was acting on his own accord, this was a personal rampage. Luckily, there is no teamwork from the villain side, he doesn't know if he could handle both of them at the same time.

"He's running away? That's not very manly..", Kirishima continued commentating from the observation room.

"To be fair, I'd probably do the same. Bakugo looks REALLY mad.. it's scary..", Sero chimed in.

As a matter of fact, Bakugo was horrifyingly gaining on Midoriya.

It seems Izuku knew that though, it was like he had a pair of eyes on the back of his head. The boy whipped himself around mid motion and fired two web strands onto Katsuki's ankles. Once again, the blonde was tripped. However, instead of following up with an attack, Izuku used this as a chance to gain more distance and possibly escape.

"SHITTY DEKU, GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME, YOU FUCKING COWARD!"

The words went in one ear and out the other, it didn't bother Izuku as he continued fleeing.

"DEEKKUUU, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE MEEEE! I'LL HUNT YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EAARRTTHH!"

"Jesus Christ, what's this guy's problem?!", Jirou didn't need the enhanced hearing that her quirk provided in order to hear her teammate's shouting. The scream could rival Present Mic's.

Eventually, Izuku found himself cornered at a dead end. Katsuki had a grin of satisfaction, "Nowhere to run now, Deku!"

Izuku felt the throbbing buzz in his head increase. "Yeah, thanks, I didn't realize I was in danger.."

Katsuki hefted one of the gauntlets shaped like grenades to point directly at Izuku. The white lens couldn't expand any farther on Midoriya's mask. The weapon was one that Izuku helped design with Katsuki, out of all the suggestions the blonde could have taken, this was the deadliest one.

"You recognize it, don't you? Assuming they honored my design requests, this gauntlet's been storing the nitroglycerin that I sweat. With that much fluid.. you're fucked!"

"Bakugo! Stop it now, kid!", All Might screamed over the comms in a panic. "You could kill him!"

Katsuki couldn't hear the warning though, his earpiece had been destroyed long ago.

"Don't worry, Deku, you won't die as long as it isn't a direct hit!", Bakugo had a crazed grin.

"Kacchan.."

Katsuki yanked the pin out before his friend could talk him out of it.

 _ **BOOOOMMM!**_

It was like a volcanic eruption. Half of the building had been decimated.

"Sensei, shouldn't you stop this?! Bakugo's crazy, he's looking to kill!", Kirishima panicked upon seeing half the video feed cut out from the blast.

"No.. Look!", All Might pointed to another monitor that showed Izuku survived the explosion.

The boy had made it out with a few scrapes and bruises, his costume was a little tattered as well. He still managed to cling onto a chunk of falling wall though. Izuku flipped and climbed with the piece of debris to maintain contact.

Then, Bakugo returned full force with an explosion that completely obliterated the cover Midoriya had been using as a safeguard. "Awesome, huh?!", Katsuki couldn't but laugh uncontrollably. "What's wrong, Deku?! Come on! You're not dead yet!", the goading for a fight was only more off putting.

Izuku snagged the damaged remains of the building with his fingers. While struggling to climb back up, he breathed heavily from barely surviving such a powerful attack. Just as the explosion broke the floor apart, he had used the debris as a shield before leaping to the next available piece of rubble. "An explosion that you can direct forward.. Another head on attack like that, and I'm toast.."

Luckily, All Might turned on speakers in the zone so he could reach Katsuki's ears this time. "Bakugo! Use that move again and I will forcibly end the match! You will lose. Using massive attacks like that indoors is just asking to have your stronghold destroyed! Whether hero or villain, it's a bad move! It's also a good way to lose points!"

"Fucking fine, I've got other tricks up my sleeve!", the blonde propelled himself with explosions once more.

Izuku readied for another right hook. The buzzing sensation warned him that something was different about this attack, but he didn't listen. Katsuki used the first few explosions to simultaneously feint and change his own tack. Then he followed up immediately with another that nailed Izuku right in the back. The overhead maneuver was fairly intricate.

While Izuku was still dazed by the explosion, Katsuki powered up a swing. "Here you go! Your old favorite! My right hook!", the punch sent the poor boy spiraling.

Another explosion stunned Izuku long enough for Katsuki to get a grip on his wrist so he couldn't escape with any acrobatics. The blonde then used his free hand to fire off a continuous jet of fire to spin around like a rocket. The twist ended up putting tons of momentum into a body slam.

The brutal barrage of attacks left Izuku sprawled on the floor and disoriented.

"He's not giving me any time to think.. He's all instinct. Kacchan's battle sense can't be beat..", Izuku groggily forced himself to stand back up.

Katsuki was using so many new formations, that Izuku figured it was time to develop his own improvised move. It was time for a counter attack! Like holding a thumb over a hose to focus the stream, Izuku fired a round of webbing straight into the blonde's face. Instead of coming out like a string, it was a concentrated splot that covered his enemy's eyes.

Another enraged scream escaped Bakugo as he tore the webbing off his face.

The blonde broke into another frenzy as he fired off another round of explosions. Izuku expertly evaded them now that he recovered from the harsh treatment he endured earlier.

However, during this whole altercation, every blast slowly toppled the building further & further. Ever since it rumbled under the eruption from Katsuki's gauntlet, the remains kept crumbling since it received more quaking.

Jirou struggled to keep her balance as the floor shook beneath her. Slowly, cracks began appearing. Before she could notice what was happening, the crevices rapidly spread and the ground gave out. Kyoka let out a scream as she began to plummet downwards.

Izuku's gaze instantly shifted to the source of yelling. His narrowed lens spotted Jirou flailing as she fell before they widened with his stance. Katsuki missed with his next attack as the boy fired a web strand and pulled himself towards her.

Izuku's instinct to save her kicked in, he paid his friend no mind as the blonde rocketed after him. All the spider powered teen could think about is how heroes had failed to save his mother. Katsuki has the power to save her too. Hell, All Might is watching from the surveillance room. Izuku refused to let her fall, he wouldn't sit back and wait for somebody deemed more capable, he would rescue her!

Support beams gave in next, falling in Izuku's line of swinging. The path got more troublesome as Izuku avoided the lengthy pieces of metal, but he managed to flip over or under them.

An explosion from Katsuki forced Izuku to move out of grabbing distance and Kyoka fell past them. Redirecting his ariel position to descend, Midoriya began to climb through the pipes of a beam in his way. Hand over hand and leg over head, Izuku moved like a contortionist to chase after the falling girl.

Katsuki blew through it with another detonation, making more rubble join in the falling debris. Izuku flipped mid air and fit himself in between the small gap of two cement slabs. Behind him, the pieces collided and shattered, giving him an extra shove of wind gusts.

To ensure he would catch her in time, Izuku spun two webs on Kyoka and yanked on them. Simultaneously, she was pulled towards him and he was pulled towards her.

Jirou released an audible gasp of relief when Midoriya managed to grab her.

One last web strand slowed their descent and the two landed safely on the ground below.

From the surveillance room, Class 1-A cheered & clapped over the rescue. All Might nearly fainted from how dramatic the whole thing had been to watch.

That's when time ran out on the clock and the battle trial ended.

"Time is up! Villain team wins!", All Might announced.

Katsuki didn't look too happy despite his success. The blonde stalked over to his friend and teammate. "You sacrificed the win over saving someone that's not even on your fucking side?!"

"She could've been hurt, Kacchan! Or worse, she could've..", Izuku didn't want to use such a dreadful word.

"She was categorized as a damn villain, Deku! What if this had been real? You would've still saved her?!"

"Fuck you, Bakugo!", Jirou allowed her own anger to surface into the argument.

"THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO ME, EAR BITCH?!"

Before things could esculate, Izuku stepped in between them.

"If it was real, I would have done the same thing. It's a hero's responsibility to save people.. no matter what. Besides, this wasn't real, it was only training. You should have moved to help too in that case."

Katsuki opened his mouth to retort, but shut it just as quickly. He looked stumped. The boy huffed one last growl of annoyance before storming off.

That's when the rest of Class 1-A arrived on the site. Most of them swarmed Izuku to praise him over all the awesome skills he portrayed. On the sidelines, only All Might & Kyoka Jirou appreciated him from his more noble acts. After witnessing such a desperate rescue and hearing his reasoning for it, the two knew he was destined to be a true hero.

When everyone went to the mess hall to have lunch, Izuku wasn't surprised to see that Katsuki was still avoiding him. The blonde had flagged down Kirishima and sat on the opposite end of the cafeteria. Just as Midoriya was about cut his losses and sit at the empty table that had once been the start of a friendship group, he spotted someone else eating by themselves.

The girl looked immersed in her phone, so Izuku gently set his tray down as not to disturb her. His attempt at a stealthy approach failed though, she instantly looked up from her cell and unplugged her earphones. She had an expectant expression, giving him the cue to speak first.

"O- Oh.. Um, d- do you mind if I.. s- sit here?", Izuku fumbled on his words nervously.

The girl shrugged and began picking at her food with her fork.

"So.. Jirou.."

"You don't have to do this, you know. If you feel bad for your friend going berserk or something, it's fine. I don't hold any personal grudges.", Jirou spoke in a monotone voice.

"Th- That's good to know..", Izuku awkwardly chuckled. "But it's not why I'm here."

The girl raised a curious eyebrow. Yet again, this was a cue for him to explain.

"I.. saw you were eating alone.. It's probably because Bakugo was your partner and a lot of people are afraid of him now. It.. most likely doesn't help that I saved you either.. some people might think I did it cause' you were a damsel in distress or something, but that's not the case at all. If you weren't capable, then you wouldn't be in the hero course."

"Then.. what's the _real_ reason you felt so obligated to save me?"

Izuku had to swallow so he wouldn't choke on the words trying to escape. He never told anybody what really motivated him to save people. He never told the police or pros in charge of the investigation what happened with his mother or the sludge villain. He never even told Kacchan or the other Bakugos. It was just too personal to him to ever frivolously give out.

Instead, Izuku told her what he considered the basis. The wisdom his mother gave him was the part of it all that he would always be willing to share.

"With great power, there must also great responsibility."

Jirou nodded as if she understood there was more to it than that, but wouldn't try to pry it out of him.

Izuku then cleared his throat and tried to change the topic by pointing to her phone. "So, what were you listening to earlier?"

A light blush briefly appeared on Jirou's cheeks. "H- How could you just ask me that? It's just some rock music.."

"W- Well, it's just that I listen to music sometimes whenever I'm thinking, it helps me focus better. I thought maybe you were too-", Izuku begins to ramble.

A light poke from one of Jirou' earjacks knocks him out of his muttering fit.

Izuku can't help but gasp when he sees how red her face is.

"I.. I have an extra set of headphones.. if you want to listen to some of it with me."

Izuku lets himself relax when he realizes she's just as nervous as he is.

"Yeah. That sounds good."


	10. The Class Rep's Responsibility

The walk to U.A with Katsuki was in uncomfortable silence. Izuku had played along with his friend's desire to avoid one another out of mutual respect, but it didn't make things any less awkward. Mitsuki and Masaru had picked up on their behavior and tried questioning it, but Katsuki would always storm off while Izuku politely refused to explain. The small rift felt like it was only going to expand if they didn't talk soon, but Izuku knew too well that Katsuki would have to decide that time on his own for it to work.

Being forced into an interaction wouldn't resolve anything – and yet, that's exactly what happened.

"What the fuck?"

Izuku turned his gaze to Katsuki when hearing the usual profanity. Then, he looked back forward to take notice of his surroundings. An army of reporters crowded around the U.A entrance gate.

As if the media frenzy had a third sense stronger than Izuku's, they took notice of the student's arrival.

"What's it like learning from All Might?", a query of questions invaded the boy's personal space.

Izuku became a bumbling idiot as soon as a dozen microphones got shoved into his face. Katsuki rolled his eyes and took charge of the situation, yanking on Izuku's tie to steer him. Miniature explosions in the blonde's free hand forced the reporters to part like the Red Sea.

"Buzz off, ya fucking shit stains!", Bakugo couldn't resist making a crude remark. It's just in his nature.

When the U.A barrier separated the students from the unrelenting press; Izuku regained his composure. Though his tie had been wrinkled and untangled by Katsuki's harsh pulling, it wasn't tied very well to begin with. As the green haired boy shoved the red piece back into his suit jacket, he shot Katsuki an appreciative look. "Th- Thanks, Kacchan."

"Tch. What the fuck ever.", Bakugo pretended he didn't acknowledge the boy. However, with his back to Izuku, he was free to let a small smile fall on his face.

The two made their way to the homeroom to find other students already seated. A few conversed with one another while others occupied their time by studying or reading. Yaoyorozu was one of the few with their face stuck in a book and it came as no surprise to see Ashido being a social butterfly.

Eventually, all chatter died down and everybody's attention settled on the cocoon opening. Instead of a beautiful bug flying out, a disheveled teacher climbed free.

In his hand, were papers pertaining to scores & grading. They were meant to be handed out, so Aizawa gave them to each student in the front row so they could be passed down. "Good work with yesterday's battle training. I've looked over your grades evaluations. You all received passing scores.", he lazily drawled.

Then, his tone became more demanding. "Bakugo. Grow up already; stop wasting your talent."

The blonde grinded his teeth upon being the only student to get called out. It was probably to force himself from letting profanity slip out his mouth.

"Now, onto homeroom business. Sorry for the sudden announcement, but today.."

Most of the class sweatdropped as anxiety crept over them. "What is it? A brutal pop quiz?"

"You'll pick a class president."

Relief flooded the room as the class collectively exclaimed, "That's such a normal school thing!"

Aizawa began to zip himself back up in his portable sleeping bag to withstand the onslaught of ensuing shouts. The students began to yell over one another to gain the most attention, but their teacher learned to zone such noise out after spending so much time with Present Mic.

"I wanna be class president, lemme do it!"

"I wanna be a leader!"

"I'd like to do it."

"This position was made for me."

Suddenly, the commotion was broken by a single holler.

"Quiet down, everyone! Leading the many is a task of heavy responsibility! But ambition does not equate to ability! I believe that should be kept in mind if our leader is chosen by election."

The outburst by Iida stilled most of the class, but a certain word hung on Izuku. _Responsibility._ If Tenya understands it as much as he says, then that should be Izuku's vote. Unknown to the other, Iida had similar thoughts for Izuku.

"This is a classroom, not congress!", Sero exclaimed.

"Besides, we haven't known eachother long enough to build any trust.", Asui added.

"Everyone would just vote for themselves!", Kirishima agreed.

"That's precisely why anyone who manages to earn multiple votes will be the best suited individual for the job.", Iida argued. The class realized the bespectacled teen makes a good point.

"Will you allow this, Sensei?"

"However you do it, just make it quick.", Aizawa yawned from his spot on the floor.

"Very well! Thank you, Sensei!", Iida mechanically bowed.

The class then began tearing pages from their notebooks to write ballads. Each paper was folded and added to a pile upfront where Aizawa would tally the numbers. When the process was complete, the disheveled hero marked it on the chalkboard.

"I got FOUR votes?!", Izuku exclaimed.

"I got 'Vice' by two votes..", Momo Yaoyorozu mused.

"B- But who would vote for ME?", Izuku wondered aloud.

"Who WOULDN'T vote for you, nerd?!", Bakugo growled.

"K- Kacchan.. Did you v- vote for me?"

The blonde seethed through his teeth before facing the opposite direction to hide a low blush. To keep his sweaty hands from accidentally igniting, Katsuki shoved them in his pockets.

Izuku let a small smile grace his lips. Katsuki would never apologize verbally, so this action must be his way of making up for the past few days.

"Just make sure you don't do a shitty job or I'll take back my vote, ya damn nerd!"

"Bakugo, I'm afraid you can't do that!", Iida began chopping his arms condescendingly.

"HAA?! The fuck did you say, four eyes?!"

"There's no need for such slurs! I voted for Midoriya too!"

"But Iida, if you didn't vote for yourself, how did you get one?", Asui put a finger to her chin in question while glancing at the chalkboard.

"Uh.. That was me.", Izuku bashfully rubbed his neck with a forced chuckle. "He seemed to really know what he was talking about and takes these sort of things very seriously. He was the one that came up with the voting system to begin with.", Izuku gave his explanation.

"That makes sense.", Asui ribbited.

"Thank you, Midoriya.", Iida adjusted his glasses with pride.

"D- Don't mention it."

"Then, who were Midoriya's other two votes? And what about mine?", Momo interjected.

Uraraka decided that was a good time to whistle her favorite anime theme song. Jirou plugged her earjacks into her phone so she wouldn't stand out to any accusations.

Meanwhile, it wasn't uncharacteristic for Todoroki to be quiet, but his gaze seemed to linger on Yaoyorozu much more. Nobody noticed though, as Mina Ashido bounded in between.

"Come on, Yaomomo, you're obviously cut out for the part!", the pinkette boasted.

"Yaomomo?", the ponytailed girl blushed when hearing the sudden nickname.

"Alright, everybody settle down.. Now that your Class Presidents have been decided, we can begin.", Aizawa applied eyedrops with a drawn out sigh.

The class of first years felt just as drowsy as their teacher throughout the ensuing lecture.

Eventually, the relief of lunch break woke everybody up. This time of the day was meant for all sorts of gossip and conversation. Cliques and factions claimed their rightful tables; the groups ranged from the Hero Course to Gen Ed, Support, and Business.

Izuku was happy to see Katsuki & Eijiro waving him over. Ochaco had tried calling out to him with a mouth full of rice, but she made her presence known from the table as well. Even though the band breakup was short lived, it was like a reunion. Everything was back to normal.

"Yo, Midoriya."

"Huh?"

Izuku spun to see who else wanted his attention. Behind him with her own tray, stood Kyoka Jirou.

"Um, do you maybe wanna eat together again?", the girl fiddled with one of her earjacks while avoiding eye contact.

"Oh! Uh! Y- Yeah, sure. I'm sure Kacchan, Uraraka, and Kirishima wouldn't mind.", Izuku stammered out a response while gesturing to the table of friends.

Kyoka seemed to withdraw from that when she spotted the blonde grenade. "Actually, I think Yaoyorozu offered to eat with me earlier. Maybe some other time?"

"Oh, okay! S- Some other time, then.", Izuku's response fell upon deaf ears as the girl walked away.

The two went to their separate tables.

"What was that all about, Deku?", Uraraka caved in to curiosity after watching the strange exchange.

Even Bakugo seemed interested, judging by the quick glance he gave in between scarfing down curry.

"Ah, n- nothing really. Jirou-San was just wondering if she could eat with us some day."

"Oh, that'd be so cool! It'd be great to have another girl to talk to."

Katsuki gave a low grunt in between bites.

"That's so considerate of you, Midoriya! And super manly!", Kirishima added.

"Th- Thanks..", Izuku tried lowering his head to hide a light blush.

"So, Deku, what's it like to be Class President?", Ochaco changed the subject.

"A- Ah, well.. To be honest, I'm a little worried that I won't be able to live up to expectations.."

"Tch. You might be a shitty Deku, but even a shitty Deku can handle a shitty task.", Katsuki's remark sounded like a jumbled slur due to a mouthful of food.

"Bakubro, don't talk with your mouth full! It's gross, not manly!", Kirishima scolded.

Izuku and Ochaco had to stifle a laugh over the nickname that caused a vein to bulge on Katsuki's forehead.

"His choice of words aside, Bakubro is right! Being the Class Rep is probably super easy!"

"Yeah, I agree with Kirishima-San. I think you just have to do roll call and make sure people get in lines or something. Whatever the duty, it's probably nothing too difficult.", Ochaco nodded.

"Th- Thanks everyone. That's a little reassuring.."

Izuku took a spoonful of soup before continuing.

"Still, I wouldn't know what to do in the event of an emergency-"

Suddenly, the ear piercing ring of an alarm began blaring. Every student was jolted from their seats in shock. Some classmates were in the middle of eating or drinking and ended up spitting it all over.

"Security Threat: Level Three has been broken. All students, please evacuate in an orderly fashion.", an automated electronic voice blasted over speakers to warn everyone.

"What the hell is level three?!", Katsuki shouted.

"It means someone's infiltrated the building! We need to hurry up and get outta here!", a stray student yelled amiss the growing stampede of teens.

Pretty soon, the lunchroom crowd found itself stuck together in narrow hallways. Whoever attempted to scramble out of it felt like they were trying to swim upstream during a rapid river.

"Quit shoving me or I'll fucking kill you!", Katsuki's threat was drowned out among the other panicking students.

The crazy rush could rival the crowds during Black Friday sales. It was no use trying to fight such a swarm of rough pushes. Whoever attempted to do so just found themselves being toppled over.

Izuku was one of the poor souls to be overpowered and slammed around. Eventually, the freckled teen found himself pressed against a wide window. His eyes frantically darted about to see what could cause such a rapid rush & panic.

The barrier that sealed off the press earlier looked to be gone now. A pile of dust that needed to be swept away was in its place. The big breach was most likely the crowd of reporters.

"There's no danger! It's just the media! Everyone calm down-"

Izuku got mushed against the glass even harder, cutting off his desperate shouts.

Then an idea struck the super powered teen. While using his quirk without a license would be considered illegal, an exception was made for students on U.A property.

With a forceful leap, Izuku bounded from the crowd and planted his palms on the ceiling. Making haste, he frantically crawled towards the emergency exit where others would be more likely to see & hear him.

"EVERYTHING'S FINE! IT'S JUST THE PRESS!", Izuku shouted at the top of his lungs.

The crowd must have heard him, because it stopped swarming like a flock of angry bees.

"There's nothing to panic about! We're fine!"

However, that statement couldn't be any further from the truth..

When the U.A Staff & Teachers finally resolved the situation, they began to investigate how it even arose. The small mammal called U.A's principal inspected the dust left behind.

"No ordinary reporter could have done this. Someone instigated this whole affair."

"What makes you say that, Nezu?", Present Mic raised a brow.

"Several documents were missing from my office. While most were nothing important and could have simply been misplaced.. it makes me wonder. Did some evildoer manage to slip in?"

Aizawa's droopy eyes narrowed as he understood the rodent's words.

"If so.. They could be intending to wage some greater war."


	11. Encounter With The Unforeseen

"Uuuhh.."

"I can't have ONE normal morning at this fucking school!"

Izuku & Katsuki were greeted at the disintegrated barrier by their homeroom teacher and classmates. Parked in between the gateway and path inside was a specialized school bus. They hadn't even attended U.A for a week yet, and they were apparently going to have a field trip.

"S- Sensei, shouldn't we go to the classroom first?", Izuku wondered.

Aizawa let loose an exasperated sigh due to the student interrupting his juice box slurping session. "With the barrier out of commission, Principal Nezu suggested we perform a different approach to hero training. I'll explain when everyone is loaded on the bus."

Izuku nodded in understanding while Katsuki grumbled to himself. When the two boys stepped foot inside the transport vehicle, they were hit by a maelstrom of greetings.

"Bakubro, over here! Yo, you too Midoriya!", Kirishima shot up from his seat that he had been saving.

"No, sit over here with me!", Uraraka exclaimed while patting an empty space.

"The Class President should have provided us with a seating order!", Iida reprimanded an anxious Izuku.

"If it's that much of a concern, Bakugo shall sit with Kirishima and Midoriya can sit with Uraraka.", Yaoyorozu acted as a saving grace. Izuku gave her a thankful glance.

"This is so exciting! Do you have any idea where we might be going?", Ochaco vibrated with joy.

"Um, n- not yet.. Aizawa-Sensei said he would tell us when everyone was ready.", Izuku was overwhelmed by the girl's ecstatic behavior.

"I just hope it isn't a boring museum or something.", Ashido leaned over her seat to reveal she had been eavesdropping.

"What if they're taking us to the movies?! My old school used to do that all the time.", Uraraka theorized.

"I doubt it. Neither of those things have to do with heroic activities. If I had to guess, we would be going somewhere like a gym to train.", Izuku muttered with his own thoughts & suggestions.

"Ooh, what if they're taking us shopping?! I could really use a trip to the mall!", Ashido ignored the murmuring boy.

"That would be fun!", Uraraka was far too consumed in her conversation with the pinkette as well.

Izuku slumped in his chair upon realizing he had been completely forgotten.

Eventually, Tsuyu Asui climbed aboard. "Sorry I'm late everyone. I had to make breakfast for my younger brother and sister.", she apologized.

"Aww, it's okay Tsu! You can squeeze in here with me and Midoriya!", Ochaco waved her friend over.

"Thank you. Kero.", the greenette agreed to sandwich the poor blushing boy.

"H- Help me.", Izuku twitched and sweated.

"Alright, that should be everyone. We can finally get this bus rolling now.", Aizawa gathered everybody's attention.

Hanta Sero shot his hand up with astounding speed that would be useful in combat. "Um, what're we doing exactly?"

"This is a lesson that will be supervised by myself, All Might, and one other teacher. We will be preparing you for disaster relief; this will range from fires to floods."

"Rescue Training!", the class exclaimed in realization.

"I'll be right at home in the flood portion, Ribbit.", Asui seemed happy about to announcement despite her unreadable expressionless face.

"Rescue, huh? Sounds like another rough day.", Kaminari complained.

"Come on, this is what being a hero is all about! I'm pumped!", Kirishima was his usual energetic self.

"Tch. I'd rather blast villains in their dumb faces.", Bakugo growled.

"Hey. I'm not done."

Everyone shuddered upon seeing their teacher glare at them with red eyes.

"It's up to each of you whether or not you'll wear your hero costumes; as some of them are ill-suited for this sort of activity."

"But Sensei, aren't our costumes back in the classroom?", Yaoyorozu raised her hand to interject.

The ragged looking hero grinned before flipping a switch on a portable remote.

The class looked on in awe as lockers descended from the roof. They had witnessed a similar feat in their classroom with the wall, but it was still a startling surprise.

"At the back of the bus is a restroom. You can get changed in there.", Aizawa drawled.

Then the bus lurched forward and began its journey. Students began making trips to the back to get dressed while others made small talk.

"Midoriya. I generally say what's on my mind."

"O- Oh! What is it, Asui?", Izuku wondered.

"Call me Tsu."

"T- Tsu?"

"Your quirk kinda resembles mine."

"Huh? How so?", Izuku completely forgot about his nerves. Whenever it came to quirk discussion, he was always in the zone.

"Yeah. What makes you say that, Tsu?", Uraraka pried.

"My quirk allows me to exhibit everything a frog is capable of doing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Midoriya is able to do anything a spider can."

"Y- Yeah, that about sums my quirk up.. I never thought about it that way, but you're kinda right.", Izuku ponders his classmate's words.

"So that's how you were able to pull off all those awesome flips and stuff! Man, that's pretty cool and flashy! Not like my hardening quirk, I'm good in a fight, but it's pretty boring.", Kirishima chimed in.

"A- Actually Kirishima-San, I think your quirk is super neat! Your hardening is more than enough if you wanna go pro! With enough practice, you might be able to withstand hits that All Might dishes out!", Izuku reassured the redhead.

"Heh. Wouldn't that be manly?", Kirishima flashed one of his infamous shark toothed grins.

"You wanna talk strong and cool? That'd be Todoroki and Bakugo!", Ashido sprang up from her eavesdropping position. Izuku silently wondered how many times she would secretly listen in.

"Tch.", Bakugo rolled his eyes. He was used to receiving praise, so it didn't matter much to him.

"But Bakugo's so unhinged. He'd never be popular.", Asui retorted.

"What did you fucking say, frog face?!", the ashy blonde shot up like a firecracker.

"See?", the greenette pointed at the volcano eruption with a cheeky expression that stuck out her tongue.

"I'll fucking fuck you up, you fucking fuckwad!", Bakugo roared as Kirishima struggled to hold him back.

"What a vulgar conversation!", Yaoyorozu shook her head.

"Indeed. I don't think your mouth could get any fouler, Bakugo!", Iida chopped his hands condescendingly.

"Oh yeah, four eyed fuck? How about I pound you?", Bakugo sneered.

"G- Guys, let's just calm d- down and stop fighting.", Izuku pleaded.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! I wanted to ask you something, Midoriya!", Kirishima turned his attention to the intervention once Bakugo settled down.

"O- Oh? What were you wondering, Kirishima?", Izuku nervously asked.

"You were able to shoot webs during the battle training, but didn't use them any other time. What's up with that?"

"Ah, well.. Um, ya see.. That's not really part of my quirk."

"The nerd built shitty support items to do that crap.", Bakugo supplied an answer.

Kirishima's eyes widened in awe. "Whoa, he's _that_ smart?!"

"The nerd isn't THAT smart!", Bakugo hollered.

"Then why do you call him a nerd? Aren't nerds smart? Kero."

"I'll fucking kill you, frog face!"

"Stop your bickering and look sharp. We're here.", Aizawa interrupted the conversation.

"Yes, Sensei!", the class replied in unison.

In the amount of time it took the driver to find a parking space, Izuku and a few others changed into their hero costumes. Yaoyorozu took charge and led the class in a single file line when finished.

However, the trek to their destination was briefly postponed for everyone to gawp at the massive structure. An enormous dome with marble steps leading towards it had them completely mesmerized.

"Save your fascination for when we get inside.", Aizawa strolled past the gawping group. He knew that this was nothing compared to the interior and braced himself for the next reaction.

"WHOAA!"

"Is this Universal Studios Japan?!"

The facility was an impressive lot the size of a metropolis. The entrance platform somehow managed to overlook it all. In the center was a plaza and fountain. From there, pathways split in different directions to route visitors to customized locations.

"There's the flood zone, landslide zone, conflagration zone, and plenty more!"

The class turned their awe ridden gaze to the newcomer and suddenly became starstruck.

"It's the Space Hero: Thirteen!", Ochaco Uraraka squealed like a fan girl.

The pro hero dressed like an astronaut nodded in acknowledgment. "I built this facility myself. It contains every disaster and accident you can imagine. 'The Unforeseen Simulation Joint' to train heroes how to properly rescue!"

True to the hero's word, every site was specified for different calamities. One burned hot with fire while another poured with artificial rain & thunder. The students could barely take it all in, but their attention span was certainly trying.

While nobody was focused on the teachers, the two began whispering to one another in the corner.

"Thirteen. Where's All Might? I thought he was meeting us here.", Aizawa grimaced at the mentioned hero's tardiness.

"About that, Senpai.. It seems he just about reached his limit during his morning commute. He's resting in the break room back at U.A with the promise of appearing towards the end of the exercise to say a few final words."

Aizawa rubbed his temple with a shake of his head. "The height of irrationality.. So be it. Let's get started."

Thirteen nodded before turning towards the class and raising their voice. "Before we do, I have one or two points to make. Possibly three? Maybe four? Lots of points."

Class 1-A sweatdropped while Aizawa continued shaking his head in annoyance.

"As I'm sure many of you are aware; my quirk is called Black Hole. It can suck in and tear apart anything it's focused on.", Thirteen gestured towards their glove where a finger cap popped open. With enough precision, a miniature whirlwind was created before being snuffed out.

Uraraka nodded her head to show she was listening intently. "You used it to save people from all sorts of disasters!"

"Indeed.", Thirteen confirmed. "However, my power could easily kill.", that response then drained the joyful aura from Ochaco & everyone else. The mood had changed to something far more serious.

"Sensei?", Uraraka prodded to see where that statement was headed.

"I have no doubt there are some among you with similar abilities. In our superpowered society, the use of quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem that this system is a stable one; but we must never forget that it takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk for people to die."

"During the physical fitness test I had you all perform, you discovered your hidden potential.", Aizawa added his part of the explanation.

"Through All Might's battle training, you experienced the danger that your respective quirks can pose to others.", Thirteen continued.

"I see! From the very beginning, our hero lessons were carefully thought out! I shouldn't expect anything less from U.A!", Iida adjusted his glasses as if he had seen a new light.

"Correct. Now, this class will show you a new perspective. You will learn how to utilize your quirks to save lives. Your powers are capable of inflicting harm, but I hope you leave here today with the understanding that your meant to help people as well!"

Izuku nodded in understanding. He learned that the hard way when entering a wrestling tournament; he could have used his quirk to save his mother rather than flaunt it.

"That is all! I thank you for listening!", Thirteen bowed at the end of the speech.

"Bravo! Bravo!", Iida applauded enthusiastically.

"Moving on..", Aizawa interjected while stepping forth.

Whatever the homeroom teacher said beyond that was drowned out by the buzzing in Izuku's head. The spider clad teen clutched the spot of dull throbbing with a small groan. Whatever the reason for his tingling senses, they were quite severe this time around.

"Midoriya? Is something wrong?", Aizawa seemed to notice this behavior and raised a brow in concern.

"Sensei.. I- I think I sense something coming.", Izuku tried to warn everyone.. but it was too late.

Right on cue, the light bulbs illuminating the environment began to burst with a surge of electricity. With lights dying out, a centered mass of darkness began to swirl in the middle.

A chill ran down everybody's spines as they something begin to climb out of it.

Aizawa pulled up a pair of yellow goggles and prepared his capture cloth for combat.

"Get back! This isn't a simulation; those are real villains!"

The lens on Izuku's mask widened in realization.

Leading an assault of gnarly looking foes, was a villain covered in severed hands.

Izuku instantly recognized the blue haired man and his ally.

The purple mist is capable of creating bigger warp gates afterall.


	12. The League Of Villains

A mutual moment of assessing one another passed between the armada of villains and children guarded by heroes. Tomura Shigaraki's eyes searched for a familiar figure that wasn't present among the class while Aizawa glared behind his yellow goggles.

Izuku's widened lens adjusted accordingly to a narrowed slither so he could focus on the danger as well. With instincts kicking in, he began to act as the Class Rep to usher his friends back.

When the blue haired villain covered in severed hands finished surveying his enemies, he broke the tense silence. Honestly, he was expecting one of the heroes to speak first with flimsy negotiations.

"According to the staff schedule we snatched the other day, All Might is supposed to be here.."

Aizawa instantly picked up on the villain's suggestive remark. "The barrier.. Of course. That whole incident was this scum's doing. It was all a prerequisite to this assault."

"Where is he? We've come all this way, and brought so many playmates."

When Thirteen nor Aizawa responded to the villain's jousting, he spread his arms wide with theatrics.

"I wonder if some dead kids will bring him here?"

THAT prompted a reaction from Aizawa. "Thirteen! Begin Evacuation! Try calling the school while you're at it!", the hero began shouting orders to his comrade.

"I've been trying to, but there's some sort of jammer!", Thirteen urgently yells back.

Kaminari began fiddling with the headset on his hero costume. "I'll give it a try!"

"Sensei, aren't there intruder sensors?", Yaoyorozu interjected.

"Of course there are! Whatever is jamming our signal must be affecting those too!"

"Are they only here, or also at the main building? Either way, if the sensors aren't working, it has to be one of their quirks that's doing it.", Todoroki mused.

This prompted Aizawa to use his quirk on the crowd, one villain at a time. If he managed to erase the jammer's quirk, Kaminari would inform him of the change.

"This place is far from the campus. They picked a time when there would be fewer people here. This is a well coordinated sneak attack.", Aizawa begins mulling over the threat level of his opponents.

"It seems they elected to ignore us in order to strategist. Shall we intervene, Shigaraki?", Kurogiri turned to his leader.

"Use the canon fodder like we planned.", Tomura nodded.

Hearing the villains scheming, Aizawa decided it was time for him to leap into action.

"Thirteen, take care of them!", the hero shouted over his shoulder while jumping off the stairway.

The sudden attack managed to stall the villains for a moment. However, they almost instantly recovered with a similar ferocity.

"Ranged Squad; Let's move!", one of the villains in the front lines called out to the others.

An assessment of faraway fighters rallied to counter the hero. One had gun barrels for fingertips while the others had less apparent ranged quirks. However, it was the firearm fingers that indicated they would be no use. A soft click could be heard as ammunition failed to come out.

"What the-", before the villain could figure out why his quirk was malfunctioning; Aizawa planted a foot in his face.

Two other criminals tried to rush the hero from either side, only to be wrapped up in fiber bindings and slammed together. The capture cloth whipped about with professional accuracy to disable other foes. With hard tugs and strong yanks, villains went flying left and right.

"You dumbasses! That's Eraserhead!", one the villains recognized the hero. "He can cancel out your quirks just by looking at ya!"

"Time for a new strategy then..", Shigaraki indicated for a swap in squadrons. The remaining ranged villains retreated for a group of brawlers to step forward.

A four armed goliath covered in rock leads the new troupe with confidence.

"Let's see if that trick works on Heteromorphic types!"

"No. It doesn't.", Aizawa answers for them. A swift jab to the nose sends the brute reeling. "However, I have certain countermeasures for fellas like you.", the hero uses his binding cloth to snag the villain's ankle. While leaning back on his weight to dodge a punch from a second criminal, Aizawa manages to tug on the cloth and trip the prior villain. With a forceful pull, Eraserhead tosses the latter into the former.

"Ah, I see. He's good at hand-to-hand combat. Those goggles of his also hide his eyes so we can't see whose quirk he's canceling. Even a whole mob of us isn't slowing him down.", Shigaraki begins scratching at his neck in irritation with the desire to join in the fight.

Meanwhile, Thirteen uses her comrade's distraction as a chance to evacuate. The astronaut themed hero begins ushering the class towards the exit.

"Come on, move along children!"

However, a purple cloud overshadows the doorway before anybody can make it out.

Izuku instantly knows it's due to the warp gate villain before yellow eye slits appear.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave.", the villain speaks with elegance.

"Then DIE!", nobody expects Katsuki Bakugo to barrel towards the criminal.

A massive explosion knocks everyone back and recovery is only possible once the smoke clears.

"That was close.. Yes, you students are proving to be true golden eggs of a prestige hero school..", the purple fog remains unscathed when viewable again.

Bakugo is pulled back by Kirishima and Thirteen to prevent a counterattack.

However, that's exactly what the warp gate wants.. everybody gathered up for him. Opening one warp gate to collect a group is an easier task than making several.

"Be gone! Writhe in torment!"

The dark mass begins covering them like a purple snowstorm. Most of the class is consumed as they try to fight against the current, but a few manage to dodge.

Izuku is one of the few who escape. His overriding Spider-Senses made him leap free of the mist while grabbing onto the nearest person.

A female shriek as the two become airborne makes him glance at who's in his arms. Izuku is quite surprised to see he managed to grab Kyoka Jirou.

Landing back on the podium with grace, Izuku looks around to see who else managed to evade the warping attack.

Izuku and Kyoka are relieved to see their teacher, Thirteen, standing a few feet apart. However, that's the only other person that managed to escape the sweep of purple fog. Izuku feels a pit in his stomach upon seeing the entire class disappear.

"Kacchan.."

"You should be more worried about yourselves.", the floating fog faces the remaining few.

"What did you do with them?!", Izuku shouts in anger.

"I merely scattered them around the building. We prepared other factions in different areas to finish you all off. It seems although we miscalculated in your potential though.."

"What do we do?", Kyoka begins to panic.

"Kacchan and the others can handle themselves.. Like the villain said; we need to worry about ourselves.", Izuku replies while getting into a defensive stance.

"There'll be no need! Get back, children!", Thirteen intervenes by stepping between them.

By opening the lid on one of the hero's fingers, a whirlwind begins to suck in everything around it.

Kurogiri begins to expand upon feeling the forceful pull of Thirteen's quirk. The only way to escape is to warp himself somewhere else, but he refuses to compromise himself. Rather than flee, he goes on the offensive side once more. Thirteen is used to aiding in rescue ops, not combat. The poor hero doesn't expect a warp gate to open behind them so their own quirk can pull them in.

Thirteen's uniform bursts like a balloon under the pressure.

"He got me.."

Izuku's eyes widen with horror while watching the corpse collapse. Kyoka has to cover her mouth to avoid screaming in terror. It's a complete nightmare for both teens to witness.

Snapping out of the dreadful moment so he can prevent it from happening further, Izuku grabs Kyoka by the arm and thrusts her away.

"Run! Find somewhere to hide!", Izuku ushers the girl.

"Wh- What about you?!", Jirou cries back.

Kurogiri focuses on the red & blue hero in training.

The teen crouches down like a spider preparing to strike its prey.

"We're supposed to worry about ourselves. Remember?"


	13. USJ's Battle Royale

Aizawa was having a hard time predicting movements from his opponents between his heavy panting & scuffling of attacker's feet. Each shoe scrape alerted him to swivel his head and erase a villain's quirk, but it was quickly becoming an overwhelming battle. Dodging and weaving would do no good once his dry eye caught up with him. However, Aizawa was far too fatigued to go on the offense either.

Tomura Shigaraki began to notice the hero's dulled defensive maneuvers and stepped forward to give in to his itching desire for combat. With the villain's hands removed from his own neck, the fingertips found a new target to scrape against. Aizawa's elbow made contact with Shigaraki's quirk and flesh began to peel away.

"Slowing, are we?", Tomura allowed a rhetorical question to escape the cynical grin on his lips.

Aizawa wasted no time in relaying a response. With the activation of erasure; Shigaraki's quirk no longer decayed the hero's flesh. While the sensation of pain still lingered in that arm; Aizawa used his other to volley a series of punches into the villain leader. A blow to Shigaraki's throat was followed by one to the nose which would certainly draw blood.

Once Tomura reeled from the counterattack and relieved his sore throat via gagging; the villain returned his wicked gaze to match Aizawa's intent red glare.

"You really are cool.. Eraserhead.", the bitter bite in the false compliment didn't waver the hero.

The brief confrontation was then interrupted by another squadron of low level thugs. Aizawa had to revert his erasure stare on the oncoming villains while Shigaraki hummed in amusement.

While the hero's stamina was certainly draining quickly, Shigaraki didn't like things to be dragged out. With a snap of his fingers, Tomura ordered the hulking beast behind him. "Nomu. Pin down Eraserhead for me."

The creature gave a soft shriek in reply before stepping forward to carry out its command.

Meanwhile, Izuku Midoriya had problems of his own.

The hero in training continued to bound over Kurogiri with impressive arrays of flips & somersaults. The analytical side of Izuku had already developed countermeasures to remain precautionary during the fight. After witnessing the villain's warp gate in effect countless times; Izuku began to figure it'd be harder to open one over a moving target.

"Why must you make this difficult?", the villain began to grow frustrated as he continued to try and capture his evasive prey.

"Because you ruined pizza for me! How am I supposed to eat it now that I know villains like it? Not cool, man! Pizza is the best and now I can't eat it anymore!", Izuku quipped.

"What are you-", the villain pauses his question upon familiarity. The attributes of a spider's agility and blatant symbol on the student's chest should have been obvious sooner. Kurogiri suddenly recognized the pizza boy's voice and figured out what had happened to Kumo that night.

Upon seeing the formidable villain's yellow slits narrow even further, Izuku had to gulp back the rising fear. "You truly are evil. Not only are you polluting with your quirk; but you ruined-"

"Pizza. Yes, I remember.. Izuku Midoriya, was it?"

The white lens on the boy's mask expand now that his fear has finally managed to grip him.

That reaction was the only confirmation that Kurogiri needed.

"Once Shigaraki Tomura learns of what happened to his pet.. You and your loved ones will perish."

"NO!", Izuku loses control of his pent up emotions and vaults towards the villain.

During the entire confrontation, Kyoka Jirou had watched from a hiding spot. Even though her classmate had told her to run; she just couldn't abandon him. However, the girl felt a twinge of guilt due to just spectating it all and not attempting to intervene. Kyoka had been so mesmerized by her classmate's ability to fend off an actual villain that she hadn't been able to budge from her spot. There was also a second reason.. she'd been paralyzed with fear. The will to take action only broke free when Izuku most needed it.

Kurogiri had predicted where the spider teen would land and prepared a warp gate. Only God could know where the portal would send the boy.

In that moment, Kyoka plugged her earjacks into the support equipment that U.A provided. As per request, the girl's hero outfit came with a pair of boots capable of amplifying her heartbeat. The speakers boomed with a sonic pulse that caused Kurogiri to waver.

While the villain was temporarily disoriented; Izuku retreated from the purple fog and escaped a dangerous vortex.

Kyoka breathed a sigh of a relief when her classmate landed on the railing beside her.

"I thought I told you to get out of here.", Izuku exclaimed with worry in his tone.

"You're lucky that I didn't listen! If I ran away, then you'd be dead! You asshole!", Jirou retorted.

Izuku flinched at the harsh comeback; then he solemnly nodded in understanding. He'd been so concerned about protecting her, that he didn't realize she worried too.

"Then we'd better _both_ get away. I don't think we can take this guy.", Izuku compromised.

"Do you think I would ever allow that?"

The two teens turned their attention back to the now recovered villain.

"Did we ask for your input?", Izuku quipped.

Kyoka would have laughed at the joke if it hadn't motivated the villain to rush them head on.

"Hold on!", that was the only warning Izuku gave Kyoka before wrapping his arms around her and leaping from the railing to dodge Kurogiri.

Elsewhere, the other students had similar situations.

Katsuki Bakugo, Eijiro Kirishima, and Ochaco Uraraka had all been sent to the Ruins Zone. This particular site simulates a destroyed urban environment with buildings found in precarious conditions. It just so happened to be the perfect surroundings for Uraraka; the gravity girl used her quirk on rubble to make it weightless and weaponized.

Bakugo & Kirishima fought head on. The explosive blonde would just blast all of his opponents away while the redhead solidified his body to withstand close ranged attacks.

Eventually, the trio managed to wipe out all the low level thugs.

"Buncha canon fodder.. The real shit is in the Central Plaza..", Bakugo spat.

"Whoa, hang on Bakubro, we can't go back there. Aizawa was holding them off for us, remember? We should just wait for backup from the other teachers.", Kirishima tried to get in the blonde's path only to be shoved aside.

"How long do you think he'll be able to last? That bum needs our help.", Bakugo argued. "Oi, Round Face, what do you have to say about all this shit?", he then turned his attention to the other student.

"I..", she only hesitated for a moment before finding a resolve of determination. "I think we should help Aizawa-Sensei no matter the cost!"

Bakugo grinned before firing off an explosion in her direction.

A soft eep escapes Ochaco as she realizes the attack wasn't meant for her. Apparently, a chameleon based quirk allowed a villain to sneak up on her while camouflaged. Somehow, Bakugo's reflexes managed to rescue her from a surprise attack.

"Then you'd better work on your reaction time.", the blonde looked feral as he shook the unconscious villain with ferocity.

"So manly!", was the only reaction Kirishima was able to muster from what he had witnessed.

In another simulation site, a different set of students were having a more difficult time dispatching villains. Tsuyu Asui, Hanta Sero, and Tenya Iida found themselves trapped on a boat within the Flood Zone.

"I apologize for being so useless at such a dire time! I'm afraid I'm out of my element in this particular location!", Iida showed off of the engines in his calves. His quirk was meant for mobile means and he had nowhere to run when surrounded by a body of water.

"It's okay, Iida. I would usually be able to swim away, but I don't want to leave you behind.", Asui ribbited.

Sero chuckled nervously, "Y- Yeah.. Please don't leave us here."

"I wouldn't dream of it.. But what do we do? Kero.."

"Yes; Asui is correct. We must escape somehow!", Iida nodded.

"Call me Tsu."

" _Tsu_ is correct! We must escape somehow!"

Sero sweatdropped, "We heard you the first time.."

Tsuyu put a finger to her chin in thought. "Uraraka told me about something Midoriya did during the Entrance Exam..", she then faced Hanta, "Sero, I want you to try something."

Within the Downpour Zone, more students were willing themselves to make a move.

Fumikage Tokoyami, Koji Koda, Rikido Sato, and Mezo Shoji were completely surrounded by villains.

The teens were huddled in a formation that was ready for any attack.

At the Mountain Zone, Momo Yaoyorozu & Denki Kaminari were prepared to make their move.

Using her quirk to create a specialized sheet, Momo was covered with a blanket capable of withstanding Denki's electrical output.

The villains dropped unconscious once they were fried.

"Wheeyy!", Denki flashed two thumbs up despite being short circuited as well.

"That move was pretty powerful.. but it doesn't work on fellow electrical types!", a villain stood up after shaking off the attack.

With Kaminari out of commission, it's a one on one. However, the strain of creating such a big & difficult object for Yaoyorozu puts her in a incredibly bad predicament.

Luckily, a floating beam of metal whacks the remaining villain from behind and knocks him out.

"I did it!", the cheerful voice of Toru Hagakure exclaims.

Momo breathes a sigh of relief and thanks the invisible girl for her aid.

That sort of teamwork isn't shared at the Conflagration Zone. A strew of students run in different directions in an attempt to escape the army of villains.

"Every person for themselves!" Mina Ashido shouts over her shoulder while using acid to slide away.

"Au Revoir, Villains!", Yuga Aoyama winks before using his belly beam to escape.

"You've gotta be kidding me..", Mashirao Ojiro mumbles before running.

While that simulation site is engulfed in flames, the Landslide Zone is completely covered in ice.

Villains struggle in frozen shards as the one responsible releases a chilly sigh.

"The whole lot of you were beaten by a child.. That must be embarrassing.", Shoto Todoroki shakes his head as if he's disappointed.

"I'll kill you!", one of the villains hisses a threat in response.

"No. You won't. You're going to tell me why you tried though.", Shoto replies nonchalantly.

When the villain refuses, a frosty hand hovers towards their head.

"I want to refrain from doing things that aren't heroic.. but I need you to talk."

The villain cries out in fear at the implied threat.

"We're here to kill the symbol of peace!"

"Kill.. All Might.. ? How would any of you scum be capable of doing that?", Shoto scoffs.

Aizawa was currently pinned under the monster dubbed 'Nomu'.

Every time the underground hero attempted to use his quirk on someone, the creature slammed his head into the asphalt. Aizawa tried clawing his way out, but the monster easily snapped his arms like twigs to prevent such a daring escape.

"Eraserhead.. I'd like you to meet the bio-engineered rival of All Might.. The _Anti_ Symbol of Peace.", Shigaraki gestured towards the monstrous creation.

"Did we just hear that correctly? That thing was made to kill All Might?", Kyoka shuddered in Izuku's arms.

The two teens had found themselves fleeing to the Central Plaza and happened to hear the villain's words to Eraserhead. In order to steer clear of getting caught in the crossfire, Izuku swung overhead with Kyoka.

Kurogiri warped himself beside Shigaraki.

"Is it done?", Tomura lifted an eyebrow in expectation.

"Two troublesome teenagers managed to evade me. However, I've led them right into the fray."

Shigaraki hummed as he comprehended the warp gate's report.

"Then.. Nomu! Kill them!", Tomura pointed to the airborne heroes in training.

Even with his Spider-Sense blaring, Izuku isn't able to fire off another web round before the Nomu barrels into him. The forceful ramming makes him drop Kyoka and the two fall with a rough landing.

Izuku groans as he tries to recover from the painful shock sent through his body. The impact had made a tear in the top of his mask so a tuft of green hair can poke out. Through a cracked lens, Izuku looks up to see the Nomu advancing on Kyoka.

"No.."

The creature raises its fists above its head with a bloodcurdling crow. The beast towers over a cowering girl and winds up its strength for an ultimate smash.

Then, the fists come down with killing intent.

Kyoka closes her eyes as she prepares for the impact.

Tomura's widen in shock.

Kurogiri's yellow slits expand more than Izuku's lens ever could.

In between Kyoka and the Nomu's fists.. stands Izuku Midoriya.

The boy had caught the monster's arms mid swing and continues to struggle against them.

The ground splits and cracks with the amount of force being applied by both challengers. Izuku grunts with effort as he continues to push against the beast's strength.

When Kyoka opens her eyes again in curiosity as to why she didn't feel any agony, she's surprised to see her classmate holding back a deathly blow.

Izuku trembles as the Nomu begins to overwhelm him. The shaking is audible with pops of the teen's joints applying themselves as far as they can go. Kyoka releases a tremble when she sees Izuku's knees begin to buckle under the pressure.

"Go! Run!", Izuku barely manages to shout in between his grunts of effort.

This time, Kyoka manages to listen and dashes out of the line of fire.

Once there's nobody behind him to take the hit, Izuku releases his grip against the Nomu and flips backwards to avoid being on the receiving end of it.

The ground bursts into a crater and smoke consumes the surrounding area.

Once the dust is lifted, Shigaraki recovers from his state of shock and begins to analyze the newcomer. Upon seeing the spider emblems and tuft of green hair, he too manages to experience the same revelation that Kurogiri had.

" _ **You..**_ YOU took Kumo!"

While the broken lens stays expanded, the other one narrows. The mask gives off a confused expression from Izuku.

"Who?"

"NOMU!"

The creature turns its attention back to its master.

" _ **Kill him."**_


	14. The ANTI Symbol Of Peace

From a crumpled position in his own pool of blood, Aizawa tries to assist Midoriya by activating erasure. It's a teacher's duty to protect their student no matter the cost; Aizawa just can't do very much with every body part utterly broken. Even his erasure glare doesn't provide much help; the Nomu is capable of ripping a cement chunk free with sheer strength alone.

As the behemoth of a beast launches the massive marble slab, Izuku is already maneuvering to intercept it. With the agility of a jumping spider, Izuku leaps onto the flying boulder and clings on as it sanders through the air. Before it can connect with the top of the USJ though, the teen fires two web lines back onto the ground to slow the trajectory. With a tug on Izuku's end, the connected strings act as a slingshot and launch the piece of marble back at the Nomu with the boy hitching a ride.

As Izuku nears the gruesome goliath, he has to crack a joke to calm the rising nerves. "Heeyy, batter batter! I call this one a fast ball!", nobody said it had to be a good quip.

With a warning from his Spider-Sense, Izuku bounds over the Nomu to avoid a powerful punch. The monster's fist makes an impact with the cement chunk and shatters it into particles. Nothing remains of the boulder once the dust settles from its destruction.

"Uh.. Foul ball?", Izuku's voice cracks as he nervously tries to take his mind off of hysterical horror.

A shock from his Spider-Sense tells him to move, but he isn't faster than the Nomu since it manages to snag his leg. Izuku is pretty sure the appendage would have been broken if the beast decided to apply pressure. Luckily, the Nomu opts to fling Izuku back towards the USJ ceiling.

Just like the last time he prevented a collision with the roof, Izuku fires a web strand that connects with the ground back below. Rather than pull on the line and launch himself back though, he decides to use it as a bungee cord and swings with momentum. Since the Nomu shows signs of being superior in strength & speed, Izuku decides to avoid fighting it head on.

"It's time to develop a ranged attack..", the spiderling surmises.

The Web Shooters usually spray a jet of adhesive until Izuku manually cuts off the pressure. Rather than allow the webbing to continuously stream out, he can abruptly stop the output like he did when fighting Katsuki. However, a small spurt to cover its eyes would only slow it down. Izuku focuses on creating a move that'll be both offensive AND defensive rather than just a stalling tactic.

"Improvisational Move: Web Ball Barrage!"

Izuku activates the trigger to fire webbing and stops the release with a flick of the fore fingers. This wraps the emptied webbing into a hardened sphere and comes out like a projectile.

The teen shoots off a volley of condensed balls while swinging from above.

Unfortunately, they merely bounce off the Nomu's chest without so much as a flinch.

The lab experiment cocks its head with a confused crow.

"Are those supposed to do something?", Shigaraki wonders aloud.

Even from above, Izuku hears the villain's question. "Well.. They're supposed to hurt!", Izuku heaves a response in disdain. He's pretty sure the web balls tickled more than stung at the very least.

Since the ranged attack failed, Izuku goes back to close quarters combat. Pulling himself back towards the Nomu, he attempts to kick it with all of his might.

Izuku doesn't even graze the artificial abomination. The teen's attack is intercepted when the Nomu grabs him by the throat. A simple squeeze is all it would take to pop Izuku's head off his shoulders.

Once again referring to his martial arts classes from the quirkless days, Izuku angles his body to go upside down and wraps his legs around the Nomu's neckline. With enhanced strength to carry both being's weight, Izuku leans backward and the two roll off the ground. This move frees Izuku from the Nomu's grip and separates the two once they hit the floor.

Izuku rubs at the sore place he was grabbed; his throat is bound to have some bruising.

"At least..", Izuku breaks into a coughing fit. "At least buy me dinner first."

The Nomu gets back to its feet and releases an earsplitting screech.

"And if we're going to kiss, gargle some listerine or something!"

Seriously, the monster's breath smells like mangled flesh.

In an instant, the Nomu dashes Izuku with a right hook. Combining the teen's Spider-Sense warning and familiarity from fighting Katsuki, he manages to intercept this one. The punch would have been too powerful to block and he isn't invincible to have taken it; so Izuku grabs the muscular appendage to flip over.

When he's behind the creature, Izuku uses this opportunity to nail two blows to its abdomen.

The Nomu makes an inhuman noise close enough to a cackle when registering futile hits.

The punches had no effect.

Izuku can't quip with the lump formed in his throat.

In the blink of an eye, the Nomu has Izuku's hands pinned by its own.

Then, Midoriya is slammed into the pavement.

As if the Nomu can predict Izuku's next move is to activate his Web Shooters, the creature presses down its clawed thumbs into the teen's wrists. The mechanical devices burst under the applied pressure and webbing explodes from broken capsules.

"Uh oh..", Izuku feels an overwhelming sense of dread now that he's been trapped.

"Midoriya..", Jirou places a hand on the hilt of a sheathed katanna. She hadn't had much practice with the weapon and didn't want to use it unless absolutely necessary, but this seemed like an exception.

With a fierce battle cry, she leaps up from her position and charges the leader.

Shigaraki has a perfect reaction time and catches the sword as she swings it down.

With all five fingers from both hands touching the blade, it decays almost instantaneously.

"Jirou!", Izuku struggles under the weight of the Nomu to no avail.

Aizawa grits his teeth while pushing his quirk's limits to erase Shigaraki's decay factor.

"Let's see how long you can last before having to blink.", Tomura can't contain his amused laughter.

Just as all hope looked to be lost.. the front doors burst open.

Everybody paused from the sudden arrival of familiar figure.

Stepping forth with his signature smile missing, All Might bellowed a warning to the villains.

"I AM HERE!"

Shigaraki somehow appeared unphased by the imitating presence. "I've been waiting, hero. You're worthless trash for testing my patience."

"As I promised, I've arrived for the end of the lesson. It seems it was right in the knick of time as well.. It really boils my blood to see villains so heartless attacking innocent children!"

In an instant, All Might has Aizawa in his arms and safely away from the havoc. During that same twinkle of an eye, he managed to whisk Jirou off as well. Somehow, Midoriya even got freed from the Nomu's grasp.

"Wha- How?! So fast!", Jirou exclaims in awe.

"I'm sorry for not coming earlier, Aizawa. This is all my fault.."

All Might then turns to address the teens.

"You've done well. Now, take Aizawa to the entrance and call for backup! He's unconscious, so hurry!"

During All Might's rescue, he created a wind gust that knocked the hand off Shigaraki's face. The villain crawls along the floor to quickly reclaim it.

"No, Father! I'm sorry.."

Once the hand is placed back in its rightful position, he focuses back on the situation.

"You're fast; too fast to keep up with. Yet, it's not as fast as I expected."

All Might and the teens turn their attention back to the villain during his statement.

"Could it be true? You're getting weaker, aren't you, All Might?"

"All Might.. Weaker?", both Jirou & Midoriya audibly expressed their surprise.

All Might flashed a peace sign and his usual smile to reassure the students. "Kids. Fear not!"

Then, All Might is blasting off towards Shigaraki.

"Nomu."

That simple call from the villain leader makes the monster provide itself as a human shield.

"Carolina SMASH!"

The cross impact from someone as powerful as All Might barely budges the creature.

"Huh?"

Before the hero can indulge in his confusion, the Nomu retaliates with a punch of its own.

Just barely, All Might manages to duck under the attack. Some of the hero's hair gets grazed though.

All Might strikes back with an uppercut as he rises back.

Yet again, the Nomu doesn't show signs of pain.

"Seriously?! There's no effect at all?!", the hero begins to sweat.

Shigaraki chuckles as he begins to witness his master's creation go toe-to-toe with All Might.

"No effect can come from anything you dish out, hero. Nomu has Shock Absorption; you're just fueling him with your hits. If you really want to damage Nomu, you'd be better off slowly ripping him apart piece by piece. Not that he'd give you that chance.."

"Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it!", All Might takes the piece of information to heart.

Then, the hero pushes his limits to strafe the Nomu and get behind it. Once he's close enough, All Might wraps his arms around the creature's waist and bodyslams it.

The force from the impact is enough to cause an explosion, meaning All Might used all of his strength as well.

Upon seeing their teacher regain the upperhand, Izuku and Kyoka turn their attention back to Aizawa.

"Come on. All Might should be fine.", Midoriya convinces himself and the girl.

The two begin carrying their unconscious homeroom teacher towards the exit.

However, they were wrong. All Might was the one at a disadvantage now, not the Nomu.

Once the dust settled from the blast, anyone could witness the predicament.

"So that's how it is.."

All Might coughs up blood.

The hero had tried to drive the Nomu into the concrete in order to seal its movements. However, Kurogiri intervened by opening two warp gates in between the ground's intersections. Half the Nomu had its legs dangling free while the other side had its claws embedded in the hero's side.

"I can't say I much like the idea of having blood and guts inside my gate.. but if they're yours, then I'll happily oblige.", Kurogiri stands beside Shigaraki in triumph.

"You're impressive for first time offenders, but you should prepare yourselves-"

Kurogiri interrupts All Might's warning, "It was the Nomu's job to get around that blinding speed of yours and hold you down. I would then come in and close my warp gate on you while you're halfway through. It's a simple feat once you've been immobilized."

All Might begins to truly realize the threats he's up against once they reveal everything had been carefully planned out.

Izuku happened to see all this from a glance back. "Jirou. Take Aizawa for me.", he begins to shift the teacher into her arms.

"Uh.. Sure? Why?"

Izuku running back in the direction of the villains answers her question.

Before the spider powered teen could get there though, other students did.

A row of ice trails into the Nomu and begins covering it despite the warp gate. All eyes turn on Shoto Todoroki, the boy that calmly steps forward.

With their attention diverted long enough, Katsuki Bakugo is able to fire off an explosion on the grouped villains. While Shigaraki is thrown off course, the blonde grabs Kurogiri by a metal neck brace and pins him down.

"You're not all that, you misty mook! You've got a body under there, after all!", Bakugo grins.

Kirishima and Uraraka arrive the same time as Midoriya. The three surround Shigaraki.

"Kacchan.. Guys..", Izuku whispers in relief.

All Might then manages to break free from the Nomu; he shatters the ice encased side during the process.

"This is a problem..", Shigaraki begins scratching at his neck.

Kurogiri struggles to get out from under Bakugo only to receive a blast to the neck brace. "Don't move, fucko! If I decide you're doing anything fishy, I'll blow you straight to kingdom come!"

"That's not very hero-like, dude..", Kirishima sweatdrops.

"Kids today really are something.. Are league of villains should be ashamed..", Shigaraki seethes.

Then, Tomura shifts his anger towards the injured lab experiment. "Nomu! Take out the explosive brat! We need our escape route back."

The creature begins to hobble with one leg and arm after hearing its order.

"It's missing half its limbs and still moving?!", Uraraka shudders.

Suddenly, the Nomu cries out in a bloodcurdling roar. The exposed flesh starts to rapidly expand and muscle fiber restrands itself into new limbs.

"Everyone, get back!", All Might warns his students. "I thought that thing's quirk was Shock Absorption?!"

"I don't remember saying that's all Nomu can do.", Shigaraki finds his cocky side again. "This is Hyper Regeneration. Nomu is a superpowered sandbag designed to take everything you've got. Consider the duel quirks an insurance policy."

Once its limbs are regrown, the beast stands tall. Then, the Nomu vanishes from its position.

"He's fast!", nobody is able to keep up with the speed it dashes at Bakugo with.

Except for All Might.

Planted trees are ripped free from their roots and the fountain's water is splashed over by an overwhelming gust of wind. Villains and students alike fall back from the force of air.

When the shock is over, everyone sees Bakugo with the other students and All Might in his place from prior. The hero had taken the hit from the Nomu in order to save Katsuki.

All Might's knees wobble and he can't help but puke more blood after such a blow.

Todoroki is the one to step forth and attempt to reassure the hero side that they still stand a chance. "It's three on six. We have the advantage."

"You're right. Kacchan showed us the mist man's weak point!", Izuku agreed.

"These are some pretty brutal dudes, but with us supporting All Might – We can beat em back!", Kirishima hardened his resolve along with his body via quirk.

"No! Get out of here!", All Might waves his hand as a gesture for the children to run.

"I don't think things would have gone so well if we hadn't stepped in.", Todoroki argues.

"All Might, you're bleeding..", Uraraka provides reasoning to why he needs help.

"I do appreciate your help from earlier.", All Might clenches his fist as he prepares to reenter combat, "But fear not! If you choose not to run, just sit back and watch a pro get serious!"

"Nomu. Kurogiri. Take him.", Shigaraki disregards the challenging words from his opponent. "I'll take the kids so we can clear this game and go home."

However, when the villains rush forward, they're intercepted by All Might.

The hero's fists collide with Nomu's at blinding speed and create an updraft.

"I can't get close enough!", Kurogiri tries to push against the powerful wind force.

"A head on assault?", Izuku gawps at the brutal display.

"It won't work. He's got Shock Absorption. You saw it yourself.", Shigaraki staggers from the blowback as well.

As the Nomu and All Might pummel one another, the hero gives his explanation.

"You said 'Absorption', not 'Negation'! If he absorbs the hits without negating them, then he must have a limit!"

Then, as if to prove his point, All Might winds up a final blow.

"Tell me villains.. Do you know the meaning of – PLUS ULTRA?!"

The Nomu is punched straight through the ceiling and beyond the stratosphere.

A massive cloud of steam envelops the area from such a strong strike and in the center of it stands a victorious symbol of peace.

"Yep. I'm slowing down. In my heyday, five of those punches would have been enough. What I did just now was over five HUNDRED hits.", the hero rasps due to being out of breath from the fight.

"You.. YOU CHEATED!", Shigaraki shrieks in fury. "If it wasn't for Eraserhead and that brat wearing him down, then Nomu would have beaten you!", Shigaraki scrapes at his neck as he tries to reason why the monster could have lost.

"Regardless.. How about we hurry up and finish this?", All Might taunts the villain.

Kurogiri and Shigaraki share a look of uncertainty.

"Well? Aren't you coming to get me? What happened to clearing the game?", All Might continues to taunt the duo of villains. "If you can take me.. THEN BRING IT ON!"

"Looks like we weren't needed here, after all..", Todoroki begins to turn and walk away.

"Tch. Come on, Deku. We ought to hang back for now. If your shitty ass runs in, then they might take you as a hostage or some shit like that.", Bakugo joins in the group heading for the exit.

However, Izuku didn't move from his position. Even without his Spider-Sense tingling to tell him something was off; he knew that All Might would have just apprehended the villains by now. The hero was most likely bluffing for some reason.

Those bluffs aren't working anymore either as Kurogiri begins to reason with his comrade.

"Tomura Shigaraki.. We should engage. It's apparent that the Nomu managed to deal some real damage.", the mist villain reasons.

"Right... Right, right, right!", Shigaraki begins to recover from his anxiety attack. "We can do this.. The final boss is right in front of us."

"Deku. What are you standing around for?", Bakugo growled when looking back to see his friend hadn't moved.

"Midoriya.", Todoroki also beckoned for his classmate to follow the others.

"This is revenge for Nomu!", Shigaraki yells as his battle cry.

The two villains charge the hero.

"Holy shit; oh crap! Here they come!", All Might panics to himself.

Then..

Izuku Midoriya leaps into the fray.

Izuku is about to land a punch on Shigaraki; when his Spider-Sense buzzes.

A warp gate made by Kurogiri teleports Shigaraki's hand in front of his own face.

Izuku can't contort himself mid-air fast enough to escape the reach. He's going to be decayed.

Until..

A shot rings out.

A bullet pierces the villain's hand and rescues Izuku.

Midoriya flips over the purple vortex and spins around to see who saved him.

Reinforcements!

The pro hero, Snipe, twirls a smoking gun before firing off two more rounds.

Shigaraki cries out in pain as the bullets penetrate both kneecaps.

Ectoplasm creates duplicates of himself to subdue the injured villain.

Present Mic bellows a sonic scream that prevents Kurogiri from intervening.

Midnight, Vlad King, and Cementoss walk down the steps with Principal Nezu.

Kyoka Jirou stays in the rear. Izuku gives her a thankful glance for bringing backup.

"They're here.. It's game over!", Shigaraki writhes from his spot on the floor.

Kurogiri begins to warp himself and his injured ally away before the heroes can catch them.

"This isn't over.. The next time we meet, All Might, I'll kill you!"

Shigaraki's parting words close off with the warp gate.

Izuku relaxes now that the villains are gone.

"Deku! What the fuck were you thinking, fuckstick?!"

Maybe he should bring his guard back up.

Cementoss stops Bakugo from running over by creating a walled barrier in between them.

"Hey! What the fuck?!", Bakugo growls in confusion.

"We appreciate your concern for fellow students, but we'll take it from here.", the hero tries to coax the brash blonde.

"Fuck that shit!", Bakugo is about to challenge the teacher when his peers stop him.

"Bakubro, it's fine. I'm sure Midoriya will come out okay and so will All Might.", Kirishima placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, come on! We should go see if the others are okay as well.", Uraraka chimes in.

"Tch. Whatever.", Bakugo settles down.

Cementoss huffs a sigh of relief when they back down and leave.

The REAL reason he closed them off from All Might and their friend is to hide the truth.

"A- All M- Might?"

Izuku didn't recognize the frail skeleton of a man in a hero's clothes.

This is the reason All Might had been bluffing. This is his TRUE form.

The disheveled symbol of peace ran a hand through his messy blonde locks.

"We have a lot to discuss, Young Midoriya.."


End file.
